Our Last Summer
by AnitaLife
Summary: Winter was always her favorite season. Will it be a break from the dump her life has become? With all magic seeming to become nothing but a childish dream, she begins to lose faith in everything, including herself. Jack Frost, along with all of the other guardians, have to teach her otherwise. JackxOC Rated T for safety.
1. Arriving

**Author's Note: **Hey there! This is just a tester chapter. If I get reviews and such, I will probably end up continuing this. I do have other things I have to write, if my muse and schedule will ever work this out. So sorry if the update time is lazy. I am just determined to finish something for once, so make this it, you guys!

In my mind, there is nothing more beautiful than winter. How silent it is. The peace it brings. Not to mention the seemingly endless string of holidays that initially call for peace and love among everybody.

But recently, I have been getting a bit overwhelmed with everything. Fall seemed to take forever to get there, and it did not even bother to bring me any joy whatsoever. The leaves were just pests around my feet, and the weather decided to be the perfect in between of summer and winter.

Now, I was finding myself driving all the way to my late uncles cabin all the way in Montana. He had it right next to a lake. It was great during the summer, and he always wanted me to come during the winter. Never before had I gone during anywhere near this time of year.

Funny how I wanted to grant his wish after he passed.

My car bumped and rattled over the gravel road as civilization slowly slipped away and pure wild took over. Soon, I would have to abandon my car and trek the the cabin. Finally, I got to the end of the road.

I slowly got out of the vehicle, staring at my reflection in the mirror before doing so. The bags under my eyes were too great for somebody my age. I was only nineteen, for heavens sake, and I already looked like I was a stay at home mom with three little ones with another on the way. My black hair was in a messy braid, small bits of hair having freed themselves, and my blue eyes looked like lazy splotches of paint in my eyes. Even my skin looked dead, ashy.

My feet hit the ground, and I stood as straight as somebody can after being in a car for a seemingly endless amount of time. It was only twelve or so hours, but still. That was half of a day.

Now with my backpack, I headed off to go see the cabin.

My mind was off in the other world it went to. What a lovely place that world was. It was the place without the pressures of college, peers, or parents with dauntingly high expectations. It was the world of my snow forts, my snowmen army, and the sound of music in the otherwise silence. There myths were real. There I was who I wanted to be. There is where I wanted to be.

And then I saw where I was.

The cabin was quite a beautiful building. Two stories, heated by a wood stove, a functioning kitchen and more books and blankets than somebody like me could wish for. It was also a few miles away from where you could get any sort of wifi or cell phone signal. A refreshing break from everything, really.

I opened the door, which squeaked loudly in protest. A wave of nostalgia hit me like a ton of bricks at that moment, standing in the door way with my stuff on my back.

Memories of the bittersweet summers washed over me. Playing with the dog in the yard, throwing the ball as far as I could. My family sitting on the porch. Knowing that the days of some of them were numbered. The romps to and from the lake, full of some form of dance and song that made traveling through thicket bearable. The laughs of others as I simply forgot the ability to give a damn. The nights by the camp fires, being read tales by the glow of the fire.

I placed my bag right next to the door, somehow finding it in myself to move forward. One foot after the other. My body only let me move to a chair before I collapsed and started crying like a little child upon finding out that magic was not real.

The door was still open, letting the slightly chilly air in. A small gust of wind pushed it, making it bump on the wall. I looked up, hardly caring if the cold over took me at this point.

Reluctantly, I stood. Sitting in the chair and wallowing was not going to get the car unloaded. Besides, I at least had to close the door.

On my way over, I spotted something on the table. I picked it up and brought it in to better lighting, although I already knew exactly what it was. The story book.

It had a hard cover, worn and slightly faded from one to many times off the shelf. All books should have a look like this. The slight crack of the spine as I opened it reminded me of its age and uses. A slight scent of smokey nights escaped from it. My mind screamed and pulled at me, beckoning to go to where all of my memories were. The good ones of the last summer and each and every single one before that.

My fingers flitted over the pages, turning them one by one until I finally reached the back cover. With the most satisfying feeling known to me, I closed the book and savored the noise that resulted.

I returned the book to where it had been, then I made the walk all the way back to the car. I picked up the boxes from the trunk, determined to make this in one trip. It would otherwise take me forever to make the trips required.

Struggling with them removed any grace I had held before. Not that I had much to begin with, but I liked my small grace over no grace at all. When I got to the door, I simply fell forward onto the wall, narrowly missing the mass of boxes I had tried carrying, eventually having to do some form of pushing across the grass. The ground was just frozen enough to allow this.

This was probably why I never came out here during the colder seasons. The cold air, the loneliness, the emptiness of it all. With summer, there was always a pack of family to welcome you. But now, I was all alone.

Rather than get depressed, I decided to go make a list of pros and cons. It kept me quite busy while I got the boxes situated inside and their contents put away.

Pro: The winter. It was always my favorite season.

Con: I was all alone.

Pro: I didn't have to deal with people.

Con: I didn't have people to deal with.

Pro: I could do what I wanted here. Nobody was there to interrupt or stop me.

Con: I did not have anybody to share things with.

Pro: I got to put off all bad news and everything I had been hiding!

Con: I would have to return to the world.

Pro: I had a chance to sort myself out.

Con: I could get addicted to this.

Pro: I could get addicted to this.

**Author's Note: **Jack will show up later! I just felt like he might need to wait a little while so I can get things set up for him. No forced entries, you guys!


	2. The Wish

**Author's Note: **You guys ready? This is chapter two of something I probably will end up taking forever to get done with! Savor the words! Savor them! Anyway, go say hello to Jack!

Night seemed to tackle the world in one easy swoop. It all happened so fast it seemed to happen in a blink.

I sat on the patio with my legs tucked under me and a blanket encompassing me. The pages of the story book made the smallest of sounds that seemed to echo in the otherwise silent night. The lamp I toted out there allowed me to see the pages, although their contents were practically memorized.

Even though the pages held no mention of them, I began to think of some of the most influential characters in my life.

The tooth fairy. I page after page of my sketchbooks were coated in drawings of what she might have looked like. A slim, kindly woman. A motherly, rotund broad. They ranged. I had spent about twenty seven nights in total waiting for her. Never caught her though.

Jack Frost. The thought instantly made me sick and I wanted to go run and hide. That myth always was the worst in my mind.

A soft breeze tousled my hair, making me jump. It felt like ice. I covered my nose, a reflex from my youth that still remained even with no basis for it. Maybe it was time for me to head off to bed before I lost my sleep sanity, when everything was much more influential and dreamy than it really was.

Quickly, I gathered my things and headed in. The fire was still out, and it was just the same temperature it was outside. That did me a fat load of good. All I needed to do was light the fire and wait. It was going to take a few minutes for it to have the heat I needed.

While I waited, I paced. More like roamed, but pacing seems much more intelligent and dignified. I was in the cabin, out the door, around the building, on the patio, back inside, around the room, by the book case, by the door, out the cabin and back on the porch again within a few minutes. Good thing nobody was around to judge me.

I went back inside before I could make another lap and began to go around the cabin. There was never much amusement wise in there, but there was a ton of pillows. That gave me the idea I was looking for.

Five minutes after this revelation, I had quite a nice fort. It was more of a pile of pillows with a few blankets here and there, but I decided to call it a fort. No wonder I did not do well in my architecture classes. That thought made me upset again, so I proceeded on with my paces.

Back outside again. The fire cracks on the inside, finally getting into the rhythm it will hold through the night. It casts a glow that sneaks through the door, beaconing me in. I stand just outside of its grasp, in the darkness of the night.

Mostly, it is silent. The night is a cold one, but not cold enough for snow. I wish that it was, though. Seeing the white sheet across everything would bring me the flicker of joy that has seemed to have eluded me. That single spark that makes you feel like moving it worth while.

The fire cracks again. The glow is reaching out further now, and I can tell from the slightest movement of the air that inside is warm. Or, it will be once I bother to close the door. Home and warmth are just behind me, but I feel as if I have something to say first before I head in.

How does one do this? I folded my hands and brought them under my chin. Something like that. Or were they supposed to be flat, like my clapping had come to a pause? Being informal wouldn't kill me in this situation, so I decided to let it slide. I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath of the chilly air.

"Dear... God, or whatever deity is there to hear me. I suppose this would be for Jack Frost. Or, if you aren't him, just let him know that somebody wanted to tell him this." I swallowed, suddenly self conscious. Nobody would ever know about this, but it still was horribly embarrassing.

"Please let it snow. Blankets of it. I want the lake to still be open, though. Mostly because I just want to touch the water. But you can freeze it if you like. And I will even find a way to repay you for it. I don't have much, but I can sing. Maybe if it snows I will find a nice place and sing my heart out. Every christmas carol or vaguely wintery song, I will just let them all out." I chewed on the inside of my cheek, trying to think of what to say next.

"I just want a chance to see the magic one last time."

I opened my eyes, to see if anybody was there. Nobody was. My hands slowly fell down to my sides, and I turned around and headed in. I felt like such an idiot. Like my wish would ever be granted.

When I woke up, I was curled around a pillow. The mass made the perfect bed, even though I fully intended to have gotten up and gotten in an actual bed. My body simply refused me that.

I got up, for once feeling good about my rest. There was nothing impending and absolutely nothing for me to do. It was all going to be me roaming around trying to figure out how to not get killed or something. Amusing myself was another problem.

I went into the bathroom and got ready to face a day full of nothing. Rehearsal for the rest of my life. At least I got my hair into a pretty state. The bags seemed to be fading from under my eyes. Proof of a good sleep.

As I was running a brush through my hair again, I went out to the kitchen. And that is when I saw it.

Frost.

There was so much of it, the window was near impossible to see through. Only weak, cloudy images made their way through. As my finger brushed the window, I am sure the biggest grin the world has ever seen blossomed on my face.

I did not even bother with my shoes at that point. There was snow to look at.

Snow.

Snow.

Snow.

Snow.

Snow was everywhere! It covered everything in its thick, chilling embrace. Thick flakes dropped from the sky and added on to it. Layers upon layers kept coming down. It felt sinful to even think about touching the surface. The perfection of the smoothness was to breathtakingly beautiful to consider it.

I bit my lip, gazing at the perfection before me. Certainly there were snowmen to be formed, snow angles to make in fits of giggles, snow forts to plan then finally assemble. Today actually had quite a busy agenda.

Squealing seemed top priority. It stopped short of where I stood, being silenced in the downfall.

I went back inside, a new life breathed into me. Warm clothing, priority number one! One coat, one pair of gloves, one scarf, one hat and one pair of boots later, I was ready for a day full of winter. It was amazing how it had come on so quickly. This was the best wish to ever be granted.

I stopped short of the door, my hand lingering just over the knob. My gaze had fallen upon the book. It reminded me of a promise I had made the night before.

No matter. I just needed to add that to my schedule.

I opened the back door and stepped on to the patio. My feet crunched on the snow, interrupting it. This was the tricky part. I had to make the smallest trail possible out to the forest. Once in there, to hell with being delicate.

I rushed across the snow, my arms holding out for balance. I made the trail neat and clean across the yard, hardly bothering it outside of my footprints. A thing of pride, is what that trail was.

I trudged through the under brush, knowing the marks well enough to find my way there. A line of bright red on one tree to the next was the path I always followed, even as a young child. They were still visible now.

I smiled when I saw the lake. It still had its life to it, bouncing ever so slightly. It was going to freeze over soon, but not quite yet. Another part of my wish. If today could get better, I really wanted to know.

I glanced around, making sure that there was nobody to see or hear what was about to follow. Almost nobody was around this part at this time of year, but it still was a comfort to check.

"Okay... How do I go about this?" I muttered.

Nobody answered.

"Thank you." I winced, hoping I didn't sound stark mad. "Thank you for the snow. I suppose I owe you songs now. So, here we go."

**Author's Note:** Guess who will get introduced next chapter! You thought it was going to be this chapter, didn't you. Just wait! I am hoping to really get into this fan fiction writing business. I think once I get to the good stopping point, where Jack finally comes in and everything, I will start doing the weekly system. Every Friday night, new chapters! Hopefully.


	3. The Winter Festival

A week after the first snow of the year, there was the Winter Festival. It took me at least and hour and a half to get into town, seeing as I had to walk all the way there.

I would be honestly surprised if more than one hundred people were around. The town normally attracted people for the Fourth of July. Only the unfortunate souls that lived out here in this town and me were here. Almost all of the shops were closed, except for the coffee stand. Liquid heat was easily accessible.

The festival was more of a slightly formal, very large get together. A few heating posts were set up, to be turned on at some later time. The majority of the adults stood by them, chatting and ignoring the actions of their kids until one of them cried out in pain or something of that sort. The kids, however, were doing the childish thing. Snowballs were thrown back and forth, sleds and posts becoming cover from the onslaught. Some of the kids were running as fast as the snow would allow them, dipping and weaving through or by anything that proved to be an obstacle. There was a pack of teenagers forming a snowman off to the side, and another group messing around elsewhere.

I could not help but smile. Even though I was the outcast here, they welcomed me in without hesitation. It felt awkward to me, so I ended up meandering about, dodging snowballs and small children.

Out of nowhere, one hit me. It landed square on my back, too perfect of a shot to be an accidental shot. I whipped around, trying to find the person who threw it. I wasn't mad at all, but giddy.

Nobody was paying me any mind. If there had been a kid over there, they had left to hit other children with their aim. It was quite impeccable, I did have to admit.

A little while later, one of the teenagers approached me. They were one of the ones I was initially suspicious of, and I soon found out why. "Hey! We are setting up a really awesome sled jump. You want to come?"

The rest of their group looked at me with bright smiles, jittery with the excitement. I could tell they probably just wanted somebody to go before them to see how safe it was. Nice try.

I smiled. "Maybe later."

Some of them looked slightly disheartened. One of them swallowed, and I knew that it meant he was the Guinea pig for this one. Poor guy. They told me to come over whenever and walked off, heading down the street in their pack.

I began to meander, trying to find something to do. Although life was abound and there seemed like an endless supply of possibility, none of it was currently fascinating.

It was about four thirty in the afternoon when things really started to wind down for everybody but me. Most of the snow on the ground had either been a snow ball or trodden on, leaving no placid blanket except for on the roofs. Kids were still having fun, but with snowmen and other assorted creations of snow. I ended up sacrificing my scarf to let one of the snowmen have one.

One of the mothers recognized me. She approached, her young daughter clinging to the hem of her coat. Both of them had red at the tips of their noses, and the mother was clutching a steaming cup of coffee.

"Were you the girl who sang the anthem at the parade?" She gave me a huge smile.

I smiled timidly and felt the slightest of blushes creeping up. "Yes, that was me."

"I think you did a lovely job." Her daughter nodded furiously, bobbing her head so much that the pink cap she had pulled over her ears nearly slipped off. "Any way, we are getting together a caroling group and we will be telling stories later, if you would like to join in."

Over her shoulder, I could see the group forming already. Cups of coffee and cocoa were being dished out left and right from a large pot. One of the heaters was being set up, and somebody seemed to be attempting to light a fire. A picnic table stood in such a way that it seemed to be the stage. Already, the people were beginning to gather and huddle.

I glanced at my watch. "I will have to be leaving pretty soon to be able to get back to the cabin before dark... But I suppose I could stay for a few songs."

The mother nodded and went back to the group and I followed after. They seemed to be buzzing with the excitement coming soon. One of them began to get extra jittery, and I soon figured out that they were the story teller. I was handed a cup of hot cocoa, the heat instantly consuming my hands and the steam engulfing my face. When I drank it, it spread out and warmed me from my core.

"Do you want to start us off?" one of the the women asked me. She indicated the picnic table. "We won't bite!"

By the time I got up on the table, the group was already formed. The kids had abandoned their games and packed in around, the parents forming a protective shell around them. Some of the teenagers were around, but I did not see anybody from the sledding group.

I cleared my throat and clutched my cup. "Lets start off with a really popular one."

They all quieted down, ready to follow along after me. The feeling was both nice and terrifying.

"Chestnuts roasting on an open fire," I began, timidly at first. The second line, I felt my courage grow. "Jack Frost nipping at your nose."

They joined in after that, singing it line by line. It almost felt routine. I closed my eyes for half of a verse to try and break that feeling. Today had been magical. Jack Frost had granted us the snow. When I opened my eyes, I scanned the crowd again. The sledding group was not back yet.

I did notice one boy though, standing off to the side of the group. He looked to be just around my age, except for his snow white hair. All he wore was a hoodie and a pair of brown pants that cut off midway down his calf. I did not see any shoes. And, for some reason, he had a shepherds staff.

I returned my gaze to the crowd. The song finished up, and somebody shouted out another song I should sing. I was more than happy to oblige.

After a few renditions of the famous songs we all know and a few that were rather obscure, somebody tapped me on the shoulder. "Story time," the man chirped.

Now at the back of the crowd, I listened in to the tales. They were the normal "Twas a Night Before Christmas" style ones. Most of the kids seemed enraptured by this, still holding the magic of believing it all.

One of the women tapped me on my shoulder. "You know, I think your uncle had a snow machine," she whispered to me. "Just in case you want to return to town later, you should know that he has one somewhere."

I blinked. "Really? That would have been good information for today."

She smiled. "Well, now you know. I think you should be heading off soon."

I checked my watch again. Five thirty. It would be dark by the time I reached my car! This was going to be a fun journey.

One of the sledding group rushed up to us. "Hey, last call for the sled! You want to get on it really quick?" He smiled with such excitement and vigor, I couldn't help myself. After all, I was going to be getting home in the dark any way. What was the point in taking a minute more?

"Sure!" I drank down the rest of my cocoa and threw the cup away as he lead me to the location. While I went, I couldn't help but notice that the boy with the shepherd's crook was gone.

Their grand sledding location was on a roof. I kid you not, a roof. Getting up there had been taken care of, but getting down seemed much more dangerous. It sloped down as roofs do, and they had set up a ramp a few feet away from it.

"On second thought..." I went to turn around, but they stood in my way.

"Oh, come on! It's not that bad!" The boy patted me on the back and indicated to the slope. "It just looks a little dangerous! We put stuff to cushion any crashes you might have!"

I flushed. "Knowing me, the sled will just break under me. So lets not risk it."

"Come on!" he said, a little more exasperated this time. They lead me along and brought me to the launch point. One of them held on to the wooden sled, which curved up at the front. "Just go with it! Where's the feeling of winter adventure!"

"On the ground where my neck will probably snap," I muttered.

One of the girls looked actually concerned. "She doesn't have to do it, you guys." To me, she gave a reassuring smile. "Trust me, it has more bark than bite. Just give it a go. It will be over before you know it."

They all nodded to me reassuringly, gong silent for my final decision.

"Alright."

They cheered and helped me on to the sled. It was sturdy, so it breaking was almost out of the question. My hands gripped the sides as my stomach pressed against the sled, and my eyes shut tightly.

"On the count of three," I heard the girl say.

"One."

Jack Frost, if you are real, help me through this without breaking something.

"Two."

I will sing all the carols you want. Just don't let me break anything. Please.

"Three."

They released me, and I instantly felt myself shooting down the roof. Before I had time to comprehend the number still lingering in the air, I was already airborne, between the roof and the ground.

I shot across the icy road like a bullet. Nothing was broken. NOTHING WAS BROKEN! I still clutched the sides, but I dared to open my eyes for a split second to see what was coming.

A snowman sat directly in my path. I swerved and missed it, only to come face to face with another one. Yet, each time, I narrowly missed it by a swift turn or swoop. I felt the icy air on my back and the flecks of snow sting at my face, the only proof of resistance in this world.

Then there was a snow pile. I tried to dodge it, but my efforts did not work out like they did before. I hit it with my left side, instantly feeling air escape me. The sled rattled free from my grasp, wedging into the snow while I tumbled over it.

I curled into a ball after it was over, trying to make sense of things. Air was slow to return, and I could see the group rushing over to me. The boy, the really odd one with white hair, stood back and watched me. He just kind of stood there, aloof from all that was happening.

Sucking in a breath, I stood up. The hit wasn't all that hard, but it still hit in just the right spot for me to stumble a bit while regaining myself. Blood was pounding through me, coloring my face and scaring away any coldness in my extremities.

"I think I am going to head home now," I called to the teenagers. Nobody else seemed to pay me any mind. "It will be dark long before I get home, so I best hurry."

One of them picked up the pace to try and talk to me, but I was already gone. I bolted into the trees and continued to run as long as I could. Embarrassment was flooding through me, and I did not want a soul to get the chance to see it on me.

**Author's Note: **Alright, so Jack was in this chapter, but not really. So next chapter, get ready! I hope it was alright! And please please please review! It is nice to hear things from you people!


	4. Introductions

I tend to be a very thoughtful person. My mind will refuse me sleep at times, and I have to go to somewhere I can think. It is one of the things I always try to find when I settle down somewhere. When I would stay at the cabin, I would head out to the lake to think about things. Even if it was the night time, I would go to ponder until I could hardly keep my eyes open.

My mind was a flurry by the time I got back. Thoughts of seemingly everything were flying up in my face and demanding I pay them attention. But there were too many. Even getting the logs in place for the fire was done with my mind elsewhere, to the point that I almost dropped a log on my foot.

Thought time.

As I exited the cabin to go to the lake, I was still in my mind flurry. Thinking was like trying to see the turn in a road during a blizzard. None of it was clear whatsoever, but I knew that I had to keep going. This would pass if I gave it time.

By the time I got to the lake, I had managed to focus in on one topic in general. My total lack of a spine when it came to groups. They always pushed me this way and that. Normally I didn't get the wind knocked out of me, but each time I felt like a sheep.

I looked out over the surface, trying to calm myself down. From the last time I visited it, the lake had frozen over. A fine powder of snow covered it, making it almost look like a continuation of the solid ground. When touched, it groaned ever so slightly.

I exhaled, watching the smokey cloud escape from me. It danced in the wind, going straight then turning sharply one way then the next. Another thing I loved about winter, you could be a dragon.

I began to puff out clouds like nobody's business. One after the other, I watched the clouds roll up and around. After awhile, I began to make soft roars as I puffed them out.

My mind was clear after this. The dreamy hush had fallen over everything. Even the clouds had parted, letting the stars reach through and paint things with light. The moon glowed, boasting its spot as the brightest. There wasn't even the sound of snow falling. Total silence.

I sighed, feeling at peace with just about everything at that point. After that, I hardly even dared breathe too loudly. The silence was so whole and perfect.

"I believe you owe me a song."

* * *

Believe it or not, I do not have any grace. Normally I would lay claim to some, but in this case I do have to admit that there was absolutely none of it in my system. This is why, although I did almost anything involving winter, I never ice skated.

I jumped in shock, stepping forward and away from the source. I didn't even care if I was messing up an otherwise flawless sheet of snow. "Who are you?" I practically screamed, turning around to see them.

It was the boy from town. Same hoodie, pants, lack of shoes and staff. Only now I could get a really good look at him. Perfect features, stunningly blue eyes and the most annoyingly attractive grin. His voice was resonant and carried, although the snow had a tendency to dampen everything.

"So you can see me?"

My mouth opened and closed a few times. "Of course I can see you."

His grin went from mischievous to joyful. "Good. As I was saying, I believe you owe me a song."

"I believe you owe me your name," I retorted.

"Well, I don't know your name either, so we can trade names and then you can sing me a song." He twirled his staff and rested it on his shoulder, one hand in his hoodie pocket. "Shall we get introductions out of the way?"

"I suppose that would be a good start, yes. But first tell me why you are here." I eyed him suspiciously. He didn't seem to mind.

"Oh I spend most of my time out here. My home is right around here."

I took another step back from him. "The only home near here is my uncle's cabin. Which is mine now."

He chuckled. "It's a little different from what you are thinking."

I tried to stand straight. Hopefully I could look confident enough to make him have doubts about any plans he might have. There was no way I was going to get attacked or something by some freak.

"You were the boy in town. When I crashed, you didn't even bother to help me," I stated. "Do the people in town know who you are?"

He raised his eye brows. "You could see me in town, too?"

"Of course I could. You were standing out in the open." I scoffed. "Stop acting like you are surprised at this."

He grinned with a bigger satisfaction. "You could see me in town. That's great. And to answer your question, a few people in town know me. Most people can't see me."

"I can see you as plain as day."

"Well you are not most people, are you? And I would love to know your name if that is alright." He took his hand out of his pocket and dared a step forward.

I took three steps back.

We stood there for a few seconds. He looked pretty hurt that I did not want to shake his hand, but I had my reasons to not let him anywhere near me.

"Look, I am sorry for scaring you." His arm drooped slightly. "I just wanted to say hello and get your name."

I swallowed. The intention was nice enough. Maybe there was a slim chance he was not a creeper.

He tried again, taking two steps forward to try and narrow the distance between us. There was something in the way that he did it which made me nervous.

I took four steps back again, and soon found out what he was trying to do.

**snap**

* * *

Both of us paused, paralyzed. I took my eyes from him and looked at my left foot. Unknowingly, I had gone onto the ice in my flight. It was too thin and breaking under my weight.

"Shit," I said. It was all I could manage to think of, which really showed a lot for my character.

He didn't mind my language at that point. "I didn't want to say anything, but you are on really thin ice right now."

I shot him a glare to find that he was being dead serious. His face was fixed with determination and his staff in his hand.

"Alright, here is the plan." He tried to sound comforting and in control. Another loud CRACK rang out to break the horrified silence. "I am going to use this to pull you to safety. But you have to trust me on this. Now, do you trust me?"

My mouth was dry. Everything had so quickly changed that I had no time to comprehend the moments, and I had to time to think them over. I would have to go from running from this stranger to trusting my life into his hands.

"I said, do you trust me?"

I looked up at him. My eyes must have been full of fear. "I suppose so..." I whimpered. Another crack.

He nodded. "We have to be careful with this. I'll pull you in the second I can, and you can close your eyes if you like. Meanwhile, lets exchange names. My name is Jack Frost."

Jack Frost. This guy had to be kidding. I had no other options but to go with him. His attempt at this point were to get me to relax.

"Nice to meet you, Jack." Another deafening crack. Looking down, I could see the ice webbed with small fissures. The number only grew with each second, loud snaps coming forth when a large one simply appeared from nowhere.

I felt something near my waist. The staff. It bumped me ever so gently, hugging the small of my back with the arch.

"Close your eyes, and be ready," he stated. His jaw was locked. "What is your name?"

I clamped my eyes shut, my hands covering my face. "My name is Su-"

My name was cut short with the sharp pull of his staff. I flew forward and lost my balance, tumbling into the embrace of cold. It was not the water, though. That was all that mattered to me at that point in time.

"Sorry, I didn't catch your full name." Jack said from under something. Oh wait, that was me.

I froze, knowing I should probably be getting up and away from my position. We weren't in any tangled mass that was too vulgar, but it was still horribly humiliating.

"My name is Summer James."

**Author's Note: **Ha! There we go! We meet Jack, we get her name, and we get a really good set up for future events! Please review, recommend to other readers and wait for later chapters (as I will need to stop procrastinating and not fail my classes).


	5. The Next Morning

**Author's Note: **Happy 12 day! (12/12/12) Although you may be reading this now, know that I have a stock pile of chapters, ready to be posted. So just wait, I have this all planned out and ready! Also, I will give you a notice if I revise previous chapters. I might change one minor thing or another, but I figure you would like to know. By the way, I already have things planned out, and so please be patient for things to start coming out! If you have a burning question, I might be able to tell you around when you might be finding the answer out, if you ask in a review or something.

There is also something I am heavily thinking about, so I think I will let you all decide on it. Anyway, enjoy!

* * *

"Summer." He repeated my name.

I cleared my throat and fumbled to stand up. He had put an arm around me to catch me, but he quickly released me once he knew I was safe. It felt like a blanket of snow had engulfed me. In fact, that is what his entire body felt like. That must have been why I felt like I had fallen into a pile of snow.

I scrambled up, now finally standing. I brushed myself off from any snow that clung on to me and straightened my clothes.

He stood up as well. His staff pulsed with an odd blue light that I did not notice until now. He touched the end of it to the lake before returning it to his shoulder. There was an odd cracking sound, which sounded a lot like water freezing over. Now he was totally calm again.

"Summer James. Your uncle liked coming here during the winter. He would bring his dog, and when the ice was thick enough they would walk around on it." He grinned.

"He always wanted me to come here during this time of year. I never did, though." I was glad for the different topic.

"Ah! That explains why he would say 'I wish Summer was here'!" His grin widened. "That makes so much more sense now."

I cleared my throat. "You said your name was Jack Frost."

His mind snapped back into the now, out of the small celebration he must have been having. "Yeah, Jack Frost is my name."

I scowled. It was possible that he was not lying. I mean, I knew a kid named Sherlock Holmes. His parents could not fight the temptation of having a kid named Sherlock. Maybe Jack's were the same.

"So why do you say I owe you a song?"

"Because that is what you were mouthing before you took that wicked sled ride. I helped you through it, so you owe me a song."

"I did not promise you a song," I lied. "I never said anything of the sort."

He nodded. "True, true. But each time you ask me for something you promise music in return. Like making it snow and everything."

"You can't make it snow," I said with a sneer. "Look, I appreciate you saving my life. Thank you for that, and I want to repay you somehow. But, right now, you are making absolutely no sense at all. So maybe later, if you aren't some wild hallucination brought on by lack of sleep or whatever."

He scowled. I tried not to notice how I seemed to be making him upset. If that happened, I might just let him persuade me into doing things such as believing him.

I began to walk away, but I felt his staff touch my side. It was turned up, so that the crook was not going around me, which I was glad for. He pushed me to the side a little bit, and my feet easily complied.

"What was that?"

"I was preventing you from walking on to the ice again. You were standing right over a very shallow part, but still." He shrugged.

"Okay... Well, thanks. Again." I nodded slowly and went to walk away again, this time heading to where I knew land was.

"I am real."

I paused to reply to him. "I am not saying you're not. But, I just can't believe something of that magnitude without some proof."

His shoulders slumped momentarily. A small spark flashed in his eyes and he stood up straight again. "Then why can you see me? Because only people who believe in me can."

I shrugged. "I do not know."

Before he could wrap me up in conversation again, I turned and ran. Through the trees, over stumps, right past the red markings on the trees. I was not going to get caught up with him again.

When I got home, I shut the doors as tightly as I could. After lighting up the fire, I took up a place right by it, refusing to move no matter how much I wanted to get up and move. It was pure torture not being able to, but I feared that moving around might bring back the crazies.

* * *

I woke up with the fire dead and everything silent. It was peaceful. I was able to sit there for a few minutes before deciding that I needed to start moving. It was just too lovely to pass up. This kind of schedule was something I could get used to. Not having anything pressing to do, not having anybody to satisfy or respond to.

I reluctantly got up, knowing that although I could, I shouldn't spend the day sitting around.

When I saw all of the curtains closed, I stopped in my steps. The memory of last night was crystal clear in my head. It was too real for it to have been a sleep deprived sort of situation. Maybe there was something in that cocoa I had in town. It could have perfectly been the adrenaline kicking back up after my sledding incident.

I shuddered. "Not going to do that one again," I muttered under my breath.

There was a knock at the door. I jumped out of my skin, torn from my reverie. Who would be knocking at my door?

Hesitantly, I made my way over to the door. My hand reached out and rested on the knob, and I took several deep breaths. The answer to my question was clear, but I quite liked denial.

Whoever it was knocked again.

I took my hand off the handle and backed away. Maybe I could pretend that this cabin was abandoned and that I wasn't here.

They knocked yet again, this time faster and louder.

No denying it. I would just have to go through with saying hello and it would be done with it. Plain and simple. And if his harassment continued, I would just have to dig up some of the gardening tools and threaten him with them. That would certainly work. Okay, now I was being irrational and violent.

Knocking again.

I put my hand on the knob and swallowed. Here goes nothing.

With a swift move, I turned it and opened the door. A chilling breeze wafted in, setting my skin ablaze with goosebumps. It felt like heaven. The crisp air, and the way it woke me up.

"Hey there neighbor." The boy from yesterday leaned against the door frame, his staff idly tapping on the ground. "Mind if I borrow some sugar? Or at least a song, which you still owe me."

I did not give him the satisfaction of a reaction. My face remained flat as I shut the door in his face. It was hardly open long enough for him to get what he wanted to say out, which was fine by me.

Instantly, he knocked on the door again. "Come on, I'm not being rude. I just want a single song, then I will leave."

I ignored him and went about things as if he did not exist. Maybe he would get the message sooner or later. Hopefully sooner, because I could not stand pests. I had quite a lovely shower and breakfast through the onslaught of him knocking every few minutes and calling things in to me.

As I was making myself a cup of boiling hot tea, it just stopped. If he had said goodbye or something, I had missed it. The silence returned like a cancerous thing, and I felt it hard. I kept waiting and waiting for it, but nothing came from his end. Looking at the clock, I saw that fifteen minutes had passed from the last time I heard anything from him.

I dared it. I dared to open the door and look outside, expecting to see the yard as it was the night before, except for the trail that he would have made himself. But there was nothing.

The snow had been returned to the perfect blanket it was before I had to ruin it with my trail. There was no evidence of anything interrupting it at all.

Hesitantly, I stepped outside and looked around. How did he do that?

"You know, I really liked your caroling yesterday," Jack said.

I screeched and jumped clear out of my skin. He had taken up a position next to the door, actually standing on the top of his staff. It balanced perfectly, not even swaying in the slightest.

"Wha- How are you-?" I took a moment to gather myself. "How are you on top of your staff?"

"I am." He furrowed his eye brows. "Why does that surprise you?"

"Because it's a branch." I moved a hand to touch it, stopping to get his approval. He gave me the nod, so I put my hand on the side of it, then slowly closed my fingers around it.

It was narrow, which was my cause for concern. Small white lights flashed through the grooves, seemingly at random. It seemed to breathe, a cold air pushing off of it and against my skin.

"Cool," was all I could think of to say.

"Why thank you." He leaned forward, bringing himself down to the ground. Only, he did not break the snow when he landed on it. His feet just simply stopped on the surface.

"How are you-?"

"You're going to be asking me a lot of questions, aren't you?"

I huffed. "Never mind then. I thought you were gone, which is why I looked out here." I took a step back so I was closer to being inside. It was no warmer, but it felt comforting to know my retreat would be a shorter one. "Don't you have something better to do than hang around and try and get a song from me?"

"Yes, actually." He grinned. "I was wondering if you would like to help me out with it. It might even help me prove myself to you."

I stepped back into the house and shut the door again. Apparently, I had a certified stalker now. Why he would feel the need to prove himself to me, there was not the foggiest of ideas for me.

He began to tap on the various windows on the first floor. It was intolerable. I got so fed up that I ended up rushing up the stairs with my tae and hanging out there for awhile.

There was a reason I tended to avoid up here. Mostly, it was storage, but it was not nearly as open as it was downstairs. I had hidden my fair share of secrets in this room. A light bulb was strung up from the ceiling, the cord to activate it hanging a few inches away from that. Aside from that, the main light source was a window that was kept shut most of the time. In the past, it groaned and creaked when you did open it, loudly announcing it to everybody else at the cabin. The small, golden knobs hardly had any blemishes on them from their disuse.

I stood by the window for a few moments, attempting to review my situation and plan out my next action. My thumb rubbed the knob gently, an action with no thought or purpose behind it.

Okay, so what was going on?

It appeared that there was an odd boy. He was very cold, wore clothes that looked highly uncomfortable for the winter time, and had white hair. Also, he seemed to be really stealthy. Also, he claimed to be Jack Frost.

I shivered again, one hand reaching up to rub the tip of my nose. Why did I always feel compelled to do that when I thought of Jack Frost?

Jack Frost was not a teenager. At least, not in my mind. Maybe he could explain this little loop.

Why did he want to talk to me? Prove himself to me?

This one was as confusing as the rest of the questions. I was unimportant. Just another girl off the street, who happened to be spending her first winter out of high school in a cabin with no family or friends.

Why was it that I felt the near irresistible urge to go with him and find things out?

Why was I even indulging myself with thinking about this?

Before my mind could come up with any more questions, something hit the windows. They shuddered, and there was the faintest of sounds coming from the outside. It took me a second to realize that he had thrown a snowball at the window. That sounds was unmistakeable.

That was it. There was no other option but for me to tell him off and tell him to go away.

I undid the clasp and pulled the windows open, ignoring the loud creaks and groans it gave in protest. But because I had to pull them in, that gave little Jackie-boy the advantage he needed.

By the time I even had time to comprehend what I was seeing, it was too late. The crook of the staff hugged the small of my back exactly as it had the previous night when he pulled me to safety. He clutched the other end, his body parallel to the roof. Placing one hand on the window sill, he grinned in triumph.

"Are you going to listen to me now?"

* * *

**Author's Note: **Please remember to review! Here's an idea of what to put in a review if you have no idea: why do you think I have mentioned Jack Frost twice and have had her recoil? It makes for one happy author! Here's an idea of what to put in a review if you have no idea: why do you think I have mentioned Jack Frost twice and have had her recoil?

And now, my actual question for you all that I am probably going to do: should I have one of the upcoming chapters from Tooth's perspective? Because I know exactly how and when I would do it, but I cannot decide if it would be better to do the chapter or just leave it out. Either way, you would not be missing out on any information.


	6. The True Introduction

My mouth felt dry as I stared Jack down. With his staff around me, I was pretty much forced to pay attention to him at this point, so he had me there. Maybe if I was fast enough I could get about half way down the stairs before he caught up to me. I really had no clue how fast this guy was, but he had to be pretty dang speedy to be able to pull this trick off.

He looked at me with a devilish smirk. I swear, if I was not so ready to smack it clean off, I probably would be swooning with the majority of females. We looked each other dead in the eyes, a stand off of sorts.

I have no idea what he got out of my gaze. Probably anger, hatred, and maybe a bit of curiosity. Out of his eyes I got the feeling he was only doing this to really make sure he had my attention.

"Let me go."

"That depends, are you going to listen to me?"

I huffed, noticing the spray of steam flowing out. It was freezing out there.

"Fine, but only if you answer a question first," I finally said. It was not as if I had much of a choice, but I would certainly act like it was for as long as I could.

"And that question would be?" The way he said it showed that he was being very delicate with this situation. Depending on my question, he might have to change his whole battle plan.

"Why do you care so much about me acknowledging you?"

His body relaxed ever so slightly. Removing the staff from me and to his side, he brought his feet forward and sat on the window sill. His toes brushed the floor ever so gently as he sat himself down. The staff tapped against the ground absently, his fingers curling around the beginning of the large indentation.

"That one is quite simple. Your uncle."

"My Uncle Tom?"

"Yes, that one." His eyes got momentarily glassy, but they quickly returned to their normal intensity. "He would always be a sort of winter joy within the community nearby. The kind that would make snowmen with the children then sit them down and tell stories, kind of being an advocate for good will. I never really had to worry about the place out here."

I nodded. That certainly sounded like my uncle. He would never be satisfied until he got everybody to giggle, or at least smile, once.

"And now he is gone. Some of the people in town were unsure how different the winter would be without him." He looked off at something behind me, and I knew that it was probably the cord bouncing a little bit.

"Care to explain how this all relates to me and why you are here?" I wanted to sip my tea, but I had two reasons why I didn't. One, it was still hot. Two, it might serve me a purpose momentarily.

"I want to make sure his replacement is good enough." Jack smiled, looking like the poster child of innocence.

There was nothing for me to do but roll my eyes. Other actions were out of the question, really. He had just flown, was sitting in the second story window, and seemed to think I was supposed to replace my uncle in everything. Either he was delusional, I was delusional, or both of us were, unless I was fully making him up, in which case I was delusional making up a delusional character.

"You think I am making this up?"

I nodded and turned away, pacing around the room ever so slightly. "Just like you made up the whole Jack Frost thing."

"I was not kidding you about that stuff." He sprung up, now standing on the floor like a civilized, regular person. "And I can prove it to you."

"Oh, really?" I gave him a daring look, straight in the eyes. Both of us had an evil spark in our eyes, and it was hard to tell if one fueled the other.

"Really."

Even years into the future, I would look back upon this moment and wonder: what really was going through my mind? It never became fully clear. You see, I was slightly afraid that he was going to do something insane like a wind gust or a snowman in the middle of the room.

But I know one thing: I was feeling threatened.

Now, incase there is anybody who wants to encroach on somebody else for one reason or another, let me give you a word of advice. Make sure they never have a hot drink in their hand. If you are Jack Frost, this rule really does not apply to you at all, because you are Jack friggen Frost.

The way I was standing was perfect for this to happen. I dipped my hand ever so slightly and thrust it right at his face. In this hand was my cup of near boiling liquid. A normal person would never throw something like this at somebody else, and the normal person who was unfortunate enough to be on the receiving end was probably going to have to get some medical attention.

Then again, this did not apply because I was dealing with Jack Frost.

Things seemed to go into slow motion. I saw the tea slowly exit the cup, becoming its own free body in the air. Small droplets of it broke out of the main mass, ready to extend the damage to a greater area. Jack hardly took his eyes off of mine. His staff moved and the tea became one, solid, frozen body.

Needless to say, I was stunned. But Jack ever-loving Frost was unfazed by this. He simply reached out, took my hand, and took me from the point where I was standing. I felt his arm go around my waist, and then I found myself flying through the air being held by Jack flipping Frost.

My eyes must have looked like dinner platters at the time. I tried to tell him a few of the highlights of my thoughts. Really, my mind was moving faster than an avalanche, and I could only grasp at flakes and shards of full, coherent sentences. Finally, my mind was able to do something reasonable and give me a good set of actions.

I shut my eyes as tightly as I could. And, in whatever voice I could manage at the time, said, "Put me down, please." The last word was debated, as I did not want to offend the person that could easily drop me to my death.

He obliged. His grip did not waver, not even when we were standing on something solid and firm. When I dared to open my eyes, we were standing on one of the highest branches on a pine tree.

I got to continue my little panic fest. I reached over and got him in a bear hug, mostly to give myself the illusion I had a bit of control in the situation. My breath refused to slow down as my heart thrummed in my throat. My heart was going to do nothing in the realm of slowing down. If anything, it seemed determined to beat even faster as my mind got to processing everything in front, around, and (much to my dismay) below me.

Jack did not make a sound. That was all I knew and cared about.

Then, without any rhyme or reason, I began to cry. Later thought on this would lead me to believing that the years spawned from a mixture of fear, pure joy and a few things in between. They were not regular tears. It started insight my eyes being slightly wet to a full onslaught. They were near hysterical, and I found myself in a flurry of hiccuping sobs. When I dared to open my eyes, everything was in a blur.

Jack nudged me after a minute of this. He probably was as freaked out as anybody would be.

"I am sorry..." My shoulders bounced with a hiccup. "I am so, so sorry. Sorry. Sorry. So sorry. I am so sorry."

I felt a block of ice press against my bare arm, it moved up and down in a comforting motion. It took me a minute to figure out that it was his hand on my arm.

"There's nothing to apologize for," he said once the main storm of my emotions had passed. "If anything, I should be saying sorry for scaring you."

I tried to take a deep breath, and my hands wiped at my face. Everything was slowly coming back into my control.

"Sorry." He paused. "I'm just glad you did not have that dog. It hates me."

This made me laugh. My emotions were slowly falling back into place.

"That was funny?" I dared opening my eyes as I tried to further dry off my eyes. They stung a bit, but at least I could see things now. Jack was gazing at me, a rather amused look on his face. One of his eye brows was pushed up, and there was a small hint of a grin tugging at his lips.

"I suppose so, yeah." I snuffled. "Sorry about crying. It just kind of..." I sniffed again. "happened."

He shrugged. "It's fine. You deserved that moment there."

I nodded. When I attempted standing on my own, I realized two things. One, I probably should sit down. Two, I felt like my limbs were going to fall off.

Jack suddenly floated into the air, his staff in his free hand and my arm in the other. "Sit down. I'll go fetch you a coat and other warm stuff." He helped me down and over to the trunk, where things were much more stable.

"Why can't I come with and get my own coat?"

He grinned. "You probably need to stew in your thoughts, but I also need to show you something. But we don't have that much time."

As if that explained it, he released me and glided away.

"Don't fall off and die!" he called.

**Author's Note: **Alright! I hope you guys liked it! More chapters to come in a little while! Please review! Please, oh please! Also, please answer me a question in your review: If I wrote a few chapters from the perspective of the guardians, which ones would you like to hear from first?


	7. The First Mission

I hugged the trunk to the best of my ability. Jack's parting words were only shortly in my mind, as there was so much more for me to be thinking about right now. Maybe my survival should have been a bit higher on my priority list.

I was put up there by Jack Frost.

Jack Frost.

Jack ever-loving Frost.

Just the thought of it made me grin like a total moron. I forgot all about the pain that my skin was giving me. Being alone at this moment was really what I needed.

Then it hit me. The other myths might be true, too. Santa might actually be a real thing. The Easter Bunny, too! That would also mean the Tooth Fairy was an actual living, breathing, thing! Maybe Cupid was real, too! There were too many little tales from childhood for me to stop there. The Sandman. Yetis. Oh the possibilities of it all made me giddy.

The second Jack got back, I was going to swarm him with questions. I would have to ask him questions about how they really were. As I was just showed, you could be terribly wrong about all you believed.

It felt like forever until he returned. Then again, time inches, no centimeters, when you are wearing only a tee shirt and a pair of jeans and your mind is running laps. He draped my coat over my shoulders as his entrance.

"Why thank you, my good sir." I was shocked about how comfortable I felt at this moment. He glided and took a spot next to me. "And do you have my shoes and such?"

He rolled his eyes. "Of course I brought them." He draped my scarf on the branch I was sitting on and floated in front of me. "Hurry up."

"I will take as much time as I please." I would be bothered by his attitude, but I was to excited to ask questions about just about anything I could possibly think of to ask him. "So can I ask you a few questions?"

He sighed and took up a post at a near by branch. "This is going to take awhile."

"Yes, it is." I pulled on my gloves. "Are there others? Like other people who I heard about as a kid?"

"You mean like Santa and the Tooth fairy?" Jack got a rather amused look on his face. "Yeah, they are real."

If I wasn't sitting really high up in a tree, I might have jumped up. I substituted it with kicking my legs and squealing like a little kid finding the perfect gift under the tree. Now I really wish I was on solid ground so I could jump around and scream.

"What are they like? What is the Tooth fairy like? Oh! Santa! What about the elves? Wait..." I tried to think clearly, which was not going to work out for me. Nothing was going to win out with the screaming stream of thoughts thrumming through my head. "You! I should be asking questions about you first! Ah! I am so inconsiderate!"

He chuckled, tapping his staff on the tree idly. I noticed the fern like pattern that blossomed out from under the base. "Eh, it's fine. I'm used to being overlooked."

The blizzard of thoughts quieted down momentarily. Everything seemed so much quieter with that out in the air. Even the air seemed to become still. He paused, and I saw a flash of grief on his face.

I swallowed. What just happened?

"So what did you drag me out of my cabin for?" I hoped to break the tension that I suddenly found. My mind produced the pun: breaking the ice. Not the right time, brain, not the right time.

He held out a hand to me. "I think it would be better for me to show you."

* * *

We flew through the air, and we both seemed to be having equal amounts of fun. I was amazed because we were flying. He was happy to see me act so flabbergasted. Within five minutes of our initial take off (which started very roughly as I had a minor panic attack), we arrived in the town.

"How did we get here so fast?" I inquired. We landed just out of sight of the town in the forest.

"The wind travels faster than your feet."

I straightened my clothes, which had been messed up by the flying. On my ride over, I did not even speak, except for the time I could have sworn he was going to drop me. And, in my defense, it really did feel as if his grip was slipping on me.

"So, now can I ask you questions?" I gave him puppy eyes and a small smile.

Jack twirled his staff around, resting it on his shoulders. "I suppose, unless you don't want people looking at you like you are talking to yourself." He began walking the short distance to the town.

"What does that mean?" I chased after him, feeling much more clumsy than him. My feet punctured the snow while his didn't.

"Only believers can see us," he began to explain. "Us being Santa, Tooth Fairy, the works. If you do believe in us, you can touch and hear us. Otherwise, it's as if we don't exist."

"Oh..." I looked at the trees that we passed by. Many of the branches were heavy with the snow and ice piled on to their branches. There had to be something else we could talk about.

"So, today, we need to spread festive cheer. I mean, Christmas is coming up and it is the first full day out of school for the little ones."

I raised my eye brows. "And I needed to be here because?"

He got a mischievous grin, and I felt as if I should guard my belongings. "Well, I need somebody to help me with the snow day stuff! Snow ball fights, snow men, sledding... The best stuff in the world!"

I held my tongue to prevent myself from asking more annoying questions. He probably had his reasons for bringing me along for this. Instead of asking him what I really wanted to do, I asked, "Does that include making snow forts?"

"If you want it to, it does!" He levitated for a few moments. "And don't worry about having ammunition or getting people into it, I can certainly deal with all of that."

"Great!"

We crossed the final tree in the line and entered the town. There were a few people milling about on the streets. Most of them had a specific destination. Jack did not seem fazed by the lack of people.

"Snow man time!" He flew up into the air, leaving me alone on the ground.

There are some people in the world that require specific instructions for everything they do. I tend to be able to figure out what to do, but I wished I had a bit more understanding of what was going on than the vague direction which I should go for. Making a snow man seems simple enough, yet I found myself a bit confused.

Oh well.

I crouched down and began making the body of it. Shoving the sphere of snow around got a bit tiring while doing it alone. The few people that were around took notice of me, but nobody really cared to approach me or offer any help. All on my own, I managed to get the full body done. Now I had to locate things to decorate it, surprise surprise, on my own.

It was only after I managed to find a pair of sticks did somebody come up to me. Actually, it was more of two people, a young girl and her mother.

She would have been sucking on her thumb if it were not for the glove on her hand. In her other hand, she held a neon green scarf that was slightly tattered.

"Hey there, sweetie!" I crouched down to look her in the eye.

She mumbled something, which was totally unrecognizable. Her mother translated for her. "The scarf is for the snowman. He needs clothes."

I gave the brightest smile I could muster, which was not much of a chore. The girl was simply adorable. "Really? Oh that would be so nice of you!" I held out a hand for her to put the scarf into, which she looked at with fear before she finally placed it in my hand.

"Oh thank you so much!" I took the scarf and held it close. "Do you want to hear a secret?"

She looked at me with big, doe eyes. After casting a glance to her mother, she looked back at me and slowly nodded.

"I mean, if you don't want to know it's fine." I shrugged. "It's only about the biggest secret that I could tell you."

She nodded with a bit more confidence.

"You really want to know?"

She nodded again with passion.

"Really sure?"

This time it was as if the world depended on me telling her. She shook her head vigorously up and down.

"Alright, I will tell you!" I leaned in close and whispered to only where she could hear me. "Do you know about Jack Frost?"

She shook her head slowly, her eyes even larger than they had been a minute before.

"You don't know about Jack Frost!" I gasped, and placed my hand on my heart. Now is when I had to kick in my theater experience, and speak things I did not exactly believe in myself. This is what it felt like to be a parent.

"Jack Frost is the one that makes it snow!" I smiled with as much mystery and wonder as I could. "He is the one that makes your nose all chilly, and the ones that makes the windows all foggy!" I poked the tip of her nose, which already looked like a cherry.

She giggled and put her hand on her nose. Her eyes fixed on something behind me, and she gasped. As quickly as the encounter had become, she ran back to her mother and took hold of her leg. It reminded me of how I had clung to the tree just an hour before.

I stood up, unfurling the scarf to its full length. Even though it was slightly tattered and frayed, it looked perfect for the occasion. Acting as if I was centering a work of art. With an artful flair, I put it on and wound it around the neck.

"And presto!" I heard Jack say behind me. "You have one dashing snowman!"

I glanced at him and pouted a bit. Where had he run off to?

He took a spot on top of the snowman, not even making an indentation on the snow. His staff hung idly at the side of the snowman, the crook brushing at the ground with each sweep.

"Just follow my lead and don't acknowledge me." He grinned. "I whipped up a crowd for you."

I only had enough time to wonder for a second before I came to understand what he meant by that. Because that is when the snowball war erupted.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Hey there you guys! Please, please, **please **review! It makes my day and gives me encouragement for my stories! I will hopefully be doing a few little tricks and stuff coming up soon! My plan is to have her meet Santa by Christmas, so expect chapters! Have a lovely day!


	8. Breaking the Ice

It was way past night fall when I finally felt like I could return home. Over the course of the day, I had helped in the creation of over 20 snow men, helped kids down a sledding hill more times that I really could count, lead carols and got in two separate snowball fights. Jack was around the whole time, but now there was an absence of him.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. Small pricks of the cold air hit every inch of my exposed skin, and it made me feel alive. My fingers felt numb in my gloves, yet I found it really hard to care. A very pleasant peppermint hot chocolate sat in my stomach and radiated enough heat for me to be satisfied with myself.

I felt a breeze next to me that was somehow different than all of the other small little zephyrs that night.

"Sorry about that. Little Josephine was having trouble walking on the ice, so I wanted to make sure she didn't fall over on her way home." He grinned. It was the small things for him. "Ready to go?"

"Yes, I am ready." I was slightly nervous about this mode of transportation, but it was much more safer than the alternative.

He held out his arm, which I looped mine around. Within a moment, we were air borne and on our way.

* * *

It was not much later that we returned to the cabin. It was odd to see it from such a different angle than I had before. With the snow coating everything, it almost looked like something from a movie.

Rather than going inside to talk, we sat on the roof. The view was magnificent. I had put the fire on inside so the smoke and heat would radiate from the chimney. This was my chance to talk to him about questions that had been building up all day. I only hoped that now I had the chance, I wouldn't forget or balk.

"So now can I ask you questions?" I pulled my legs in criss cross, and folded my hands in my lap.

"Yes, you can." Jack mimicked my position, only he had his staff across his lap.

"What is with the staff? Like, what does it do?"

"It's a way I channel my power. Kind of like a wand, I suppose, because it's about the only way I know how to release my powers without blowing things up."

"Where did you get it?" I remembered when I got to clutch it for a moment. The way it breathed and emanated the strange aura was curious.

"I woke up and found it there at my origin." He shrugged. "I've just always had it."

I couldn't help but wonder more about the staff. It seemed so alluring to me. Tentatively, I reached out and touched the staff. A small pulse of power met my palm, a chill dancing its way up my arm.

"Any more questions you have for me?"

I returned my hand to my lap and worked my fingers. They felt like ice cubes. My mind was blank at the moment. Even after pausing for a while, there was almost nothing.

"Do you have any minions or a boss or something?"

He knit his eye brows together. It was too dark for me to really see him much, the only light being from the moon and his staff. Everything seemed to have a dull glow thanks to the snow. But he did seem to be thinking of something a bit.

"Define boss."

"Somebody who tells you what to do. You know what a boss is."

"Well, duh, of course I do." He idly toyed with his staff, making it roll a bit in his hands. "But, there is somebody who tells me what to do. He rarely does it, so it's not like 'make it snow there, Jack'."

"What about minions?"

"I like your use of the word. No, I do all of my work on my own." He jumped up, strutting down the peak of the roof like a cat on a fence. His swagger boasted confidence and pride. "This is a one man show!"

"Doesn't it get lonely?" I inquired.

He stopped dead in his tracks. All traces of pride and confidence were melting away as fast as snow under a flame thrower. His shoulders stooped ever so slightly and I noticed a hesitation in his step that had not been there a moment before.

"Eh, you get used to it after awhile."

I recalled what he had said earlier. Only believers could see them. Jack Frost was not exactly one of the myths you heard about all the time. Lonely was probably a way to define him and his way of life.

"So, where do you live during the summer? Do you just travel around a lot?"

He did not acknowledge this question, or me, really. I could tell by his stature that he probably spaced out and was in his own world.

Internally, I cursed myself. The smallest things would set some people off, and for each person it was unique. Looks like I had found Jack's and hit it dead center. It would probably be best for me to let him go off and think through things. Then again, that could be one of the worst things for me to do.

But, seeing as I was dealing with an immortal and I was getting kind of tired, I decided to head in for the night.

"Hey, Jack, can you help me down?"

He was shortly torn from his reverie. "Hm? Oh, sure." With a swift movement, he put his crook around me and floated down to the ground. All though it was terrifying, I managed to get down safely.

"Bye," I said as I entered my home. There really was no need for me to turn back to see how he was doing, but I did any way. He had already left to go wherever he goes when he wants to think about stuff.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a colorful flash. By the time I looked over, there was nothing there. Maybe my eyes were pulling tricks on me. Then again, it could be something totally different from how things were turning out to be for me.

Without the full assurance and confidence that I was alone, I receded into my cabin and locked the door.

**Author's Note: **Sorry for the short chapter, you guys. I just found this the perfect end. Any way, review to make my day and all that good stuff. One thing you could tell me is your opinion on this: I am thinking about writing stories involving the guardians, but more of a collection of one shots. Some of them might deal with Jack as a human, or maybe the others on expeditions. Might be amusing.


	9. Spotted

**Author's Note: **A chapter I have been just dying to make! It's in celebration of it finally snowing here, although it didn't stick. Just, BAM, snow everywhere, then BAM, snow nowhere. I really hope you enjoy it! Sorry about the length. It would be forced if it was longer.

* * *

Little Josephine Adams. Proof that adorableness was able to be personified. Normally, she was fastened to her mother's side, but at times she was able to walk around on her own. But the joy which she held knew no bounds when her tooth fell out, so free that she jumped around in the middle of the great snowball war.

I sighed as I held the tooth in the palm of my hand. Jack thought it would be nice for me to work in the field sometimes. Man, was he right. There was some secret joy in taking hold of that small molar while the child snoozes away.

I knew no greater feeling.

After cooing over the sleeping girl for probably longer than I should have, I flew out the window. It was frigid outside, making my wings flutter a little slower than they normally did. Another good day, and night, by Jack Frost.

I flew out over the miniature town, taking in my last thoughts of the regular world before I returned to the palace. Maybe Jack was around. I certainly wouldn't mind saying hello to my friend.

Just as I was about to fly off, I noticed a girl standing alone by the woods. She certainly was too old to be a believer. About 19 or so, from the looks of it. Her raven black hair stood out as a dark contrast of the snow and her pale skin. It was curled up behind her head, and I saw a few corkscrews trail down her back out of her hat. The way her facial structure and her body were, she looked almost like a china doll that had been animated. If she could see me, I certainly would have thrown a compliment her way.

Underwing, I felt the breeze that was unmistakably Jack's wind. He drifted near to the ground, his hair rippling ever so slightly as he flew. No wonder my baby teeth swooned when he made an appearance. For a winter spirit, he certainly knew how to be hot.

Then, the most unbelievable thing happened. He approached her and she acknowledged him. Then they flew away! It took me a moment to comprehend it. Jack had a friend! Wait, what if she was more than that. Wait, she probably was! Jack had a friend we didn't know about! They certainly looked awfully chummy!

Obviously, I had to know more. After dropping this tooth off back in the proper slot.

* * *

It could have taken me hours to find out where they had gone, if I was ever going to be that lucky. But a thin trail of smoke gave away their presence. It stuck out as a contrast of the clear night sky, although there was hardly any light to see by.

As I got close, a cabin came into view. It was a good size, plenty for somebody to live in. There was a large shack with a great stack of firewood piled against it. Two trees on the outer edge of the property had a hammock pulled between them, which was now weighed down with its own snow.

On the roof, there sat two figures. It was difficult to see them. As I got there, I saw one of them spring up and began going about on the roof. It was clearly Jack, from the faint pulse of his staff. The other person continued to sit there. After a few tense moments he brought them to the ground and left.

I crept closer, I was able to recognize her as the girl from the town. Earlier she was happy, but now she seemed rather upset.

As she was receding into her cabin, I dared to flutter a bit closer. What I wanted to do was get her tooth box out, but I need to know what she looked like. Ideally, I would also figure out her name.

Suddenly, she turned around. Her eyes searched the frigid air before landing on me. I dove out of sight, which was not at all hard being half humming bird.

I held my breath and didn't move. Only when I heard the closing door echo across the snow did I exhale.

Now, I had a mission.

* * *

Back at the Tooth Palace, I fluttered back and forth. My feathers were really ruffled, and I had no idea why. After much thought into it, I started shooting down the halls to see if I was going to be lucky enough to locate the tooth box.

I threw my hands up in frustration after the something hundredth isle. Each isle seemed to have about four hundred or so cases full of teeth. There was a reason I put pictures on them.

I needed to calm down. This was not something I could speed through, no matter how much I wanted to. There was the burning urgency, though. If she was what I thought she was, there was some time to play with, but not forever. And factoring in Jack along with possible other forces, we would need every second.

Hoping against hope, I began down the next hall way.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Please review! The next chapter will probably be up on Wednesday, when I get out for Winter Break.


	10. Jack's Idea of Fun

**Author's Note: **I would like to thank Jack Frost for giving me a two hour school delay. And, it is finally winter break today! Any way, I am trying to make the chapters longer. So, enjoy the long chapter.

* * *

When I woke up, everything hurt. My body radiated with pain, even from my bones. That is what I got for spending about all day outside.

I slowly crept out from cocoon of blankets and tried to get oriented with the world. The house was empty, the air beginning to cool down, and I had the urge to light up the fire again. But I knew that was not going to be an option with Frosty around, which I figured he would be. Then again, it was getting chilly.

Blankets make a surprisingly perfect outfit. It took a minute, but soon I was decked to the nines. At least, as far as blanket clothing went. One was wound around me, while another draped behind me. I took a little too much pride in my improvised clothing.

It only took a few minutes before my anticipated company showed up. He hardly even knocked, but rather breezed in. I noted how he didn't even brush the ground.

"Are you ready for another day of fun?"

I pulled the blankets closer to me, still feeling my bones ache. "Define fun."

He smirked. It was annoying. "Fun is fun."

I scowled. My meal was sitting out in front of me, clearly interrupted. "Can you tell me what you have planned while I finish eating?"

He huffed like I was inconveniencing him. "I suppose we can spare a few minutes. But we have a window of time that we cannot miss!"

I groaned. He took up a spot across from me and rested his staff against the table. Even though it was not currently in use, it felt like it had some power to it without him using it. I forced my eyes away from it.

"Any way, define what you mean by fun." I shoveled up a spoonful of oatmeal. "I hope it is not another snowball war."

"Nope!" He had the largest grin on his face. I had the feeling like I should smack it off of his face. Nothing good was going to result from that face. "It might result in something like that if we aren't careful."

I paused before my next bite. "What do you mean something like that?"

"Can you eat faster?

* * *

It wasn't even thirty minutes later we were floating in the air. He had told me to stand on his staff, which we were now using like a surfboard. I only had to clutch on to him arm rather than being forced to cling on to him. That was a relief to me.

I looked over the trees. The sunlight made the snow sparkle, and the whole world looked at peace. I sighed. My breath curled up in a steamy cloud. Thankfully Jack gave me ample time to get ready for our little expedition. The fact that I was even thankful about that was sickening to me.

He reached into his pocket and took out a glass sphere. There was something on the inside making it cloudy. He shook it and I saw a building of some sort form in the center of it.

"What is that?" I asked.

He grinned again. "A snow globe. It makes portals." He rolled it idly in his hand before suddenly throwing it in front of us. It exploded, forming a circle with some odd shape in it.

I swallowed. "What is that?" At least, I tried to say that. I actually said, "What is thaaaaaaaaaaah!"

We dove down, flying straight to the portal at full speed. I nearly fell off, causing me to inadvertently hold on to his arm even tighter. My boots did not feel like they were going to keep me on the staff. It made me feel sick.

Next thing I knew, we were coasting in the air where it was much colder. Mountains surrounded us, and a warm cabin like mansion sprawled on top of one of the peeks. It had a small trail of smoke pumping out of it, light from the windows making the snow surrounding look golden. It looked like a nice, cozy location against the austere land that surrounded it.

"Summer, I present to you, the North Pole!"

I forgot how to breathe momentarily. The North Pole. Santa's Workshop. Santa Claus was just a short distance away. Santa Claus! My brain was not properly functioning after this realization.

We slowly drifted down to the building. Jack was steering us to the side of the building for some reason. We got close enough to see into some of the windows. They were slightly foggy from the frost, but I could see, the inside was bright with activity in each of them.

"Are we going to go inside?"

He nodded. "Just be quiet though. The old man doesn't know that we are here."

I decided that staring slack jawed into the the windows when they came by was the best thing for me to do at this time. It slowly became harder and harder to see through them as we came closer. Soon there was just a series of shapes behind foggy windows. Most of them were bright, but a few were dark. One of the rooms we passed by was pitch black.

We slowed to a stop near one of the windows. There was no movement or sound coming from the other end. It was to hard to see inside, but Jack did not seem to care. He gripped the edge and began to futz with one of the panes.

"I thought you said we were going to go inside."

"We are." He grinned evilly again. I got a sensation of gut dropping fear. "But they don't know that."

The realization struck me. "We are breaking into Santa's Workshop."

"Bingo." There was a dull click and swish as the window finally went with Jack's whims. He slid it up as delicately as he could, making a dismal amount of sound. "And we are in."

I would have stepped back and away if I had not been floating on Jack's staff about a thousand feet above the nearest snow covered rock. From five feet those rocks would have been deadly. I just wanted to get away from the whole situation before it all exploded in our faces. I knew there was a reason I wanted to get away from Jack and that smirk.

"Jack!" I said a little too loudly. He cupped a hand over my mouth.

"Quiet! You don't want to get busted, right?" I looked at him with confusion. Slowly, he lowered his hand and returned it to the windowsill. "It will be fun, I swear."

I hesitated, having an internal war. Maybe if we were careful we wouldn't get caught. Then nobody would have to ever know and I could get away without any damage.

Before I knew it, I was pulling myself through the window.

* * *

I really hated myself at that moment.

Now, don't think of me in a bad light. I am not miss prissy perfect who always did everything right. But I also wasn't somebody to break into Santa's Workshop. I'm pretty sure that would rocket me into the Naughty List if I wasn't on there already.

It looked to be a spare bedroom. A very fluffy bed was right under the window, which made for a very nice landing when I nearly fell on my face. There was a fluffy rug that surrounded the bed. The floors were a light wood, a polish shining with the dull light. A wardrobe was pressed up against the wall near a large wooden door.

Jack breezed in and carefully landed on the ground. There was almost no sound when his feet touched the ground. He pressed a finger to his lips and drifted to the door. I got up and crept after him. Each footfall made me shudder.

He carefully opened the door and stuck his head out. After a few deathly quiet moments, he opened the door further and slipped through. I followed after him.

Even from the hall, you could hear what was going on in the main workshop. There were small thrums from guitars, pounds from drums, bangs from hammers and tearing of paper. The workshop was alive with sounds. A smell of cookies filled the air.

I paused to look around. This place felt like an oversized cabin on Christmas. Jack seemed to be paying no attention to the decorations, but was actually trying to continue our expedition.

He paused by a turn in the hall. I quietly approached him, fearing making too much noise. Carefully, I tapped him on the shoulder.

"Where are we going?" I asked him.

He glanced back at me. "Dunno."

With that great thought, we headed down the next hall. The sounds of the hustle and bustle continued uninterrupted. Jack suddenly paused and stiffened. I saw a bit of panic cross his face. He opened a door and practically threw me into the room with the help of his wind.

Before I could ask or protest, he covered my mouth and held his breath. I took it to mean that we were about to get into deep crap. My heart began to race, only getting worse as we waited for even longer.

After what felt like forever, he removed his hand and slowly crept to the door. He put a finger on his lips and left me.

Twenty minutes later, he still hadn't returned.

* * *

**Author's Note: **So, there you have it. Please review and all that stuff that makes me happy!


	11. Hiding in Santa's Shop

**Author's Note: **Happy first day of Winter and Winter Solstice! It's certainly a day for Jack Frost! Any way, enjoy this chapter! For those of you who might be wondering, there is rationale as to why Summer just goes along with everything Jack forces her into. That will be brought up in the following chapter. Like I said, hang on there. This chapter is pretty straight forward, albeit a tad different. I had to try to describe some things I wasn't fully sure of. So, don't hate!

* * *

I checked the clock again. Literally, twenty minutes had passed since Jack had left. It felt more like twenty years. Aside from my blood pounding in my ears and the clock's ticks, I heard absolutely nothing. Whatever the walls and doors were made of, they did a brilliant job of quieting the noises of the workshop.

I looked around the room. It was a lounge. A fireplace took up a good chunk of a wall, with bookcases filling the rest of the walls. A grandfather clock was behind me, a dull series of ticks and tocks coming from it in a rhythmic pattern. A big, fluffy sofa sat under a window.

I roamed around the room, taking yet another lap. What was I going to do? Jack had gone away, leaving me alone in the North Pole!

I ran my hand through my hair, my hat in my other hand. There had to be some way out of this. Some path that would let me escape. Jack had used a snow globe to get us here, so maybe I could use a snow globe to get me back! I smiled a bit, almost forcing myself. Hopefully that would trick my mind into thinking I actually was confident in the plan.

It didn't work.

I cracked open the door enough for me to get a look through with one eye. Nothing. Still, I held my breath as I opened the door a bit more. The door was well oiled, so it didn't make a noise as it moved, which I was very thankful for.

The sounds of the workshop were the only noises I could hear from the outside. Nobody was aroud. I exited the room, stepping on the balls of my feet to prevent making any sound. It was hard to do in these boots. Now was when I needed to think fast.

I decided to continue down the hall rather than backtrack. It was risky, but I felt like that was a worse option than forging forward. So down the hall I went, trying not to breathe too loudly or step on creaking floorboards. Somehow, I managed to do reach the end of the hall without dying.

The hall took a sharp turn right, which led directly out to the workshop. I stuck my head around the corner to see what I was about to step into.

The place was alive with large white beings. They looked to be about seven feet tall, covered in snowy white hair. Abominable snowmen? Some of them were working lifts, bringing crates of wrapped gifts through the air to various levels. Some of them were even working on toys!

I was on an upper level than the majority of the workshop. There was a door nearby, then another door far past that. The creatures were swarming everywhere, so I figured if I were to continue I would have to run to even make it to the nearest room. The other one was out of the question.

That is when I heard it.

The creak and groan of floor boards. A voice speaking in some grunt version of english. They were coming up behind me.

I whirled around. They were yet to enter this hall, but they were getting close. My eyes shot to the lounge which I had just come from. It was a greater distance than the door in the center of the workshop! Whoever it was was coming quickly.

My mind went blank. At least, my memory did. The next thing I knew, I was diving into the room in the workshop. My breath was ragged and short, and the room was in a blur.

Finally, I managed to get my sights about me. Things came into focus slowly, but surely. I was the room's only occupant. A set of windows took up the majority of one wall, letting the bright winter sun in. Some of the walls seemed to be made of piles of snow. In the center of my line of sight sat a very elaborate ice sculpture. It looked like a train enthusiast's dream track, only hand carved. Tools for the carving sat on the table, surrounded by half melted shards of ice. A few tiny ice trains sat nearby, and other small sculptures of other things on a nearby table. All of them looked like a fairy had made them.

I turned around after gawking at the table. There were a few shelves on the walls. Some of them had russian nesting dolls on them, others with books or even more toys on them. The door looked like a barricade you would find in Fort Knox, but somehow cheerful and warm. A plate of warm cookies and a glass of milk stood at attention near the door. The scent filled the room.

I decided to pay closer attention to the nesting dolls, as they looked like the least breakable thing for me to gaze at. There was one that looked like Santa Claus. At least, I assumed that was him. He was bright red with a beard and a pouting expression. When I finally worked up the nerve to open it, I saw a much cheerier version, with him smiling. One of them was gray and painted sort of like a rabbit. That must be the Easter bunnies! The next one was almost entirely pure, shimmering gold. A cherub like face was painted on that one. Another one was a tropical green with a few other vibrant colors on it. The woman had flamboyant magenta eyes. Who could that be?

The last painted one was Jack's. It was impossible to mistake. On it, he was wearing his hoodie and a up-to-no-good look. Even the paint seemed to catch the daring look in his eye.

I set it down and saw a sixth one. It was blank. The pale wood had no markings or anything. When I opened it, none of the other layers had a drop of paint on them.

Delicately, I set it down where it had been. Something glinted behind it, catching my attention. A snow globe!

I quickly took up my prize and grinned like a mad woman. Great! Now I had to figure out how to operate it!

The door clicked loudly. As previously stated, it looked like something from Fort Knox. It wasn't going to open in a split second. I had maybe less than ten.

Cramming my eyes shut and saying it as fast as I could, I pleaded in a whisper to the snow globe. "Take me home!" Before I could think about what this could entail, I threw it to the ground.

* * *

**Author's Note****: **Dun dun DUUUUUUH! Please review and such! I hope you liked it!


	12. At 'Home'

**Author's Note: **Happy day after the apocolypse! I hope you had a good one!

* * *

The cold wind rushed to meet my face as snow flakes pelted my skin, feeling like ice shards. If I ever got curious and wondered what the sensation of being in an opening portal was like, I would simply have to recall this exact moment. Wind pushed and whipped at me before coming to an abrupt end.

I kept my eyes shut, but nothing happened. The air was slightly cooler, I did admit. The scent of cookies was gone, replaced by the smell of somewhat stale flowers. Even the light felt somehow different on my skin.

One of my eyes slowly opened. I was standing in my bedroom. Not the one at my cabin. My actual bedroom! The one in my parent's apartment in the city! I twirled around with joy, temporarily forgetting myself.

This was not home.

Well, technically, it was. Where I put when I had to sign something, where I put my head down most nights, where I would drag my feet after each day. Why I even still lived there was beyond me. Deep down inside, the answer lurked.

My smile and joy was gone in an instant. As I looked around the room, I felt all of it seep away. The room was well furnished, with plenty of books on the shelves, a comfortable bed and a wall covered in photos and notes from years past.

I could take a moment to reminisce.

Feeling like a man on death row looking over why he was there, I examined my room with fresh eyes. Eyes that had now seen wonder and magic. In a body that had actually felt a jolt of energy that made the fear worth while. With a mind ready to see so much more.

That all now seemed minute next to all of what my life had led me up to.

The books on the shelves were all for school. None of them made me smile from the stories within them, but shudder for the years in which I forced them down. The bag by the door was filled with nothing but trash now. My closest was worth nothing to me, as each thread inside of it was heavy with nothing but wicked memories.

I swallowed. At this moment, I was being far too bitter and harsh on it all.

The wall of photos was next. This is what caused me to drag my feet so much as I looked at everything else. Although I didn't want to, I knew it had to be done.

Most of the photos were of me with a few friends. They all looked like they were having so much more fun than me, which I had been fine by before hand. I was always next to them, but never on the statue, never in the wild pose with them, and never in the arms of some random guy. The stories for them all had some great wild ending, while mine ended with "then I went home like a good girl".

It was no wonder they suddenly, with no warning, dumped me. I still recall it like a fresh wound, too.

We had been at a mall. I had come along, and they went to go run into a store. I decided to sit outside, as I knew they were pretty much only going in there for Angelica to spend some time (aka play a game of tonsil hockey) with her boy friend and for the others to flirt with the "cute" guy that worked there. He looked a bit fake to me.

When they came out, Angelica was sobbing. She was not even trying to hold it together. I swear, she was even making herself wail louder than she really would have been doing naturally.

"What happened?" I asked as I stood up. The other girls already had their arms in a blanket around her, trying to calm and comfort her. When I stood up, they glared at me.

"Her boyfriend was kissing somebody else," one of them snapped at me.

I glanced over their heads. Her boyfriend and that cute guy had always seemed a little too friendly for some reason. Now I knew.

"It's okay, Angie!" Natalie chirped. She was right next to her, rubbing her back in a comforting manner. "You can come with the rest of us on our ski trip!"

"What ski trip?" I found myself asking.

Everybody went quiet. They all looked at me, except for Angelica who had big watery eyes. Some of them were surprised, some were shocked. Angelica was angry.

"Nothing," Angelica snapped. I should have known then and there was when it was all over.

They went out to the parking lot with me in tow. We said goodbyes, and I went home, stupidly thinking that everything was going to be okay. That there was some hope and salvation for it all.

When I got home, I had gotten a text. It had sat there for awhile, but I was never one to text and drive.

"You don't go well with us. Delete this number and don't talk to us again."

It was send by Natalie.

I stared at the message for what felt like hours. Then I would stare at the wall. Then at the message. Then at the wall. When I finally got up to go eat, my father was getting ready to leave for a business dinner.

"I had another really long day," he warned me. It sounded more like a statement, which is probably why I mistaken it for something like that in my weak state.

I nodded. "My friends dumped me," I croaked out. Why it was coming out then, why it was coming out there, I didn't know.

He shot me a glare. "You know, when somebody is trying to communicate to you they had a bad day, you don't try to one up them." A few other things were muttered under his breath as he straightened his tie and threw on his coat. I didn't have to focus in to know he was muttering about 'the rotten child' he had reared and how 'worthless she was amounting to be'. By the time he was on me about how my only chance at salvation was my schooling, it was white noise. Things get to be like that when played on a broken record.

I tore myself from the wall and shuffled to my bedroom door. Sooner or later I would have to face the nightmare which was my family. Maybe I could fabricate some lie as to how I had gotten into my room four days before Christmas.

When I opened the door, I was met by silence. No cheesy country covers of christmas tunes filled the air, or anything else of that sort.

They were gone.

They were gone! I said a silent prayer of thanks before I made a beeline for the door. If they were gone, there was no way I was going to get caught red handed in the house.

As I passed by the living room, I had to take note of the tree. Initially, I had been told I was going to spend Christmas at home. They let me go to the cabin because they figured I should enjoy it one last time before they sold it.

My christmas gifts were strewn everywhere. Some of them had been violently ripped open, while others stood perched next to the fire place. I saw a shred of wrapping paper sticking out from the ashes of the fireplace.

A letter was sitting on the table. My college informing my parents of me dropping out, mostly due to me failing every class.

I glanced around.

At least I got to see the inside one last time. With that sorrowful thought weighing me down, I left the building.

* * *

**Author's Note: **So, I wanted to go into Summer's life, hopefully to explain her emotional issues. And, believe me, there are some people that actually have lives like that, so please don't think of me poorly for having a character with that life. There will be plenty more next chapter, but then with plenty of plot movement. Please remember to review!


	13. Meeting Tooth

**Author's Note: **Okay, so now I am going into why she is kind of the way she is. Last chapter you got her backstory. But now you get to hear her rationalize her behavior! Sorry if it is pathetic.

* * *

Being in the city at Christmas is an odd feeling. So many of the stores advertise things that make you feel warm and welcome. They seem to invite you in and want to ask how your day is. Seeing all of the people around in such a festive mood is somewhat therapeutic.

But I felt so alone. When I was in the cabin, sure I felt lonely, but this time I really felt alone. Isolated. In my own universe. Nobody was going to step forward and break the barrier that surrounded me. The more people that were around to ignore me, the more I felt like I had nobody.

After spending most of the day in the city, trying to figure out what I was going to do, I rushed away from the main streets, making my way to some of the less common, but still not dangerous roads. That way I could actually enjoy myself without becoming a ball of depression.

There was the slightest bit of snow coming down. It sprinkled down and put a heavy silence everywhere. Snowflakes stuck to the curls of my hair, some of them even catching in my eye lashes for a second. I giggled a bit as my vision gained a few blotches of white momentarily.

Then the oddest thing happened.

I felt a tap on my shoulder, and I instinctively turned around. The thought it might be somebody dangerous did not even cross my mind.

The woman behind me was about as tropical as somebody could get. Her body was covered in emerald green feathers, and an exotic headdress seemed to adorn her face like a crown. A faint blur behind her confused me greatly. When I saw her magenta eyes sparkling at me, I was suddenly frightened and confused.

Then I remembered I had seen her as a russian nesting doll not that long ago!

"Hi!" she chirped.

"Hello?" I said hesitantly.

Next, I had no idea what was going to happen. Being approached by some random woman was certainly not part of my initial plans for the day. Then again, neither was breaking into Santa's Workshop or returning home. Today was kind of up in the air for me.

Every day of my life kind of was. What did I have to lose?

"Are you the Tooth Fairy?" I asked.

She gave a great smile and fluttered a few inches higher into the air. That is when I figured out that the blur was actually her wings. Humming bird wings. Well, looks like all of my sketches were proven wrong in one fell swoop. Or flutter. Yes, hummingbird wings fluttered, now swooped.

"Yes I am! You are a really good guesser!" She lowered herself so we were directly at eye level. "But you can call me Tooth."

"My name is Summer." There was a small flicker in her eyes, but it slowly died out.

A silence grew between us. I could tell that she had not thought through approaching me. Maybe she expected me to be a bursting with questions for her. Questions, I had none. Well, I did, but I didn't really feel like voicing them at that time.

"So how do you collect all the teeth at night?" I asked. "And where do you keep them all?"

She looked relieved when I asked. "Oh, I have little Baby Teeth that go around and collect them for me. We keep them at the Tooth Palace. Do you want to see?" She extended a featherless hand to me.

I looked at it. What did I have to lose? Before I could stop myself, I took her hand.

* * *

The next thing I know, I am in the most brilliantly beautiful place I had ever imagined. Everything was either made of gold or marble. Arches and beams made of pure gold littered the downward spires that made up the palace. A swarm of millions of hummingbird like things were flowing in and out, either toting a tooth or a coin.

A few broke away and took to Tooth. They fluttered around in her, one of them daring to come up to me. It looked like a miniature version of tooth, only with different proportions and a beak.

"Beautiful," I commented. Only, my breath had all but left me, so it was more of my lips moving to form the word.

I inched to one of the edges and looked over. Clouds formed before the ground did. Much faster than I had taken to get there, I abandoned the edge and stood by Tooth's side.

"So, what do you want to talk to me about?" I inquired.

She looked at me with pure surprise. "Pardon?"

I sighed. This felt ridiculous, even for the random things I had done. "Well, it seems as if I am something important. Out of nowhere, Jack Frost was pestering me. Now you. So, you either think I am important due to Jack taking interest in me, or something else."

Tooth paused in the air. "Are you sure you are a believer?"

I blushed. Inwardly, I was cursing at myself for being such a loud mouth and ruining the magic that the moment held.

She giggled. "I am kidding." Nervousness was in her tone, but only a little bit of it. Wording was going to come into play. "It's kind of a combination of the two of them. Jack doesn't really take to people. He likes being alone."

I feigned a gasp, large eyes and hand over my mouth. "Really? Because you guys could have fooled me!"

She rolled her eyes. "Any way..." She fluttered a bit higher with nerves.

I really wish I knew what I was supposed to be doing any way. Was there some manner I was supposed to be holding myself? She probably cared about dental care a lot. Wait, when was the last time I brushed my teeth? Did she know my dental record? It was probably on file, which she had read over.

"In case it matters, which is probably does, I didn't willingly go along with him on the adventures. At least, I didn't want to go." I glanced at her before sending my gaze to the floor. "On the first one, he took me out of my house. The second time he would have, but I didn't give him the chance."

Tooth stared at me. "He kidnapped you?"

"And left me in a tree."

Only now did it dawn on me the true absurdity of it all. Sure, before hand I was thinking of it as odd. Really, it was! But now, here I was, stating it as if it was common fact! Totally normal and natural! My whole world was going to be questioned, each day being put into a new perspective of how everything worked. Only now did this strike me.

I suddenly felt sweltering hot. My winter clothes were making me roast like I was in an oven. As I took them off, I felt both freed and fresh. I fluffed my hair and pulled it over my shoulder, letting the slightest breeze from her wings cool me down from my neck.

Tooth did not know what to say to that. She just kind of stared at me while she tried to figure out what to say.

"What adventures did he take you on?" she inquired. Back to moving along the spire and off of gazing at me.

"Well first I spent a day in town making a snow ball war. Then he broke into Santa's Workshop, and then abandoned me in there. That was great." Even that was normal to me. How brilliant.

She looked at me with wide eyed shock. "You broke into where?"

"The North Pole."

* * *

So far, not so good. After hours and hours of searching, there was no finding of her tooth box. When one of my baby teeth saw her on the street, I had to go talk to her.

Jack had forced her along. Then took her to the workshop. She had been in the North Pole! From the news she had gotten, Jack got busted rather quickly in one of the halls. But they had not given any notice as to a girl being in there. What had she seen? What had she done? How much did she know?

My wings beat faster and faster than usual and I shot up about an extra foot into the air before settling down. She didn't notice due to her occupation with removing her excess layers.

On the back of her neck was a small tattoo. It was a solid black eighth note. It looked almost perfect, except for the crescent moon sitting at the edge of the flag.

And that was all I needed to see. I would have rushed away then and there to talk to the other guardians, but being calm was much more of a priority here. There was a rational, easy solution to this problem.

All I needed to do was take a deep breath.

That is when she looked at me. Her baby blue eyes took on an cautious glow. "Pardon me for being so direct, but what is it that you are hiding from me?"

* * *

**Author's Note: **Hey there you guys! So, let me tell you about something that might just kill all of you avid readers. Next Saturday, I am leaving to go on a trip to Mexico! Then, I will be gone for a week. So, no chapters or movement for a week... That means I am going to emotionally ruin you guys before disappearing! Have great fun with that one!

Any way, review! I hope you enjoy wondering what the heck I am slowly getting out!


	14. Captured Frost

I crossed my arms defiantly. It was pretty much the only thing I could do in my current situation. One yeti was holding me several feet over the ground, another holding my staff. They grunted in their odd version of english as they swung me around.

"Hello! I have a skeleton that does not like being crashed against things!" I shouted as I was nearly swung into a table. Thankfully, I still had moderate control over the wind, so I was able to send myself off track.

Normally, I would have said something kinder. Yetis initially acted better when you were kinder to them. Some of them had even come to like me a bit. But, at that moment, I was kind of panicking. There was no way I would let on to it, but I really was.

North came up from one of the lower levels. A slight scowl was fixed on his face. "Jack!" he bellowed in his Russian tone. "What are you doing in my workshop? Christmas is only four days away!"

I shrugged. "I wanted to see if you needed any help."

He eyed me suspiciously. "You know, I do have one thing you could do for me." Taking my staff from one of the yetis, he held it out to me. "Go make snow storms. You have no idea how many kids listed it on their wish list!"

North gave a petite nod to the yeti holding me, who ungraciously dumped me on the ground. I fumbled to take my staff so I would float, but I do believe that I failed at it. Nobody said anything about it.

"Yeah, yeah, I will go make it snow." I rested the staff over one of my shoulders.

North glanced at my staff, which was probably sending off shots of blue light like it did when I was nervous. It was my tell. With Tooth, you could tell by her feathers. Bunny had a nose and tail twitch. North had a tendency to rub at his belly. All of us had been doing it recently.

"Jack, let's go to my work room."

He placed a hand on my shoulder and steered me. While we walked, he talked to various yetis. A few times we stopped, but only for a split second. Everybody had cause for concern with the holiday coming up. Almost all of the elves were absent, tucked away in some of the halls, I imagined. A few of them were in small cages under the tables, gnawing on the metal frames and other things. On a normal day, they could cause disaster. Whoever put them away probably was getting an award for their idea.

As I scanned the room to see if I saw any elves, I saw Summer.

She was at the end of the hall which I had come from. A look of concern was painted on her face, and I felt the overwhelming desire to somehow make it change into something positive. There was a reason for that. There had to be. For my emotions, that was.

There was a visible jump, before she cast a look back down the hall. Her hair fell away from the back of her neck, and I saw a black marking, probably a tattoo. I didn't know she had one. Then again, I didn't know all that much about her.

Summer looked at the door desperately, the one leading to North's personal work room. She wouldn't. She couldn't! Within a second, she would be caught and stopped dead.

All of the sudden, before I even had an idea to what I was doing, I slammed my staff into one of the cages. It froze over entirely, paralyzing the poor elves inside. One of them had his tongue suspended around the wire frame.

One of the yetis gave me a strong nudge, almost a push. I tumbled slightly, thankful they knew better than to use their full strength. North looked at me with bewilderment.

"Alright, alright. We will continue on!" North said as he ushered me away. He must have thought I was getting impatient. I was, but not for what he thought.

When I looked to the end of the hall, I noticed that the corner of the rug was turned up.

We reached the door after going through what felt like a million more yetis. They either had arms heavy with gifts or a look of urgency. Sometimes both. The door clicked and whirred, taking a moment to open. North had certainly upped the security because I visited more often now that I was a guardian.

Just as we entered, I felt a strong gust of wind and a felt a few shards of something imbed themselves into my ankle. Probably just another security feature.

I fully expected to see Summer. Either she was going to be in the room, or one of the yetis would tote her in here much like they had with me. She might somehow intimidate them with sass. Although I had never seen it done, I felt like Summer might suddenly pull something like that out of her pocket.

The room was void of people when we entered. Summer made no appearance, be it in yeti hands or elsewhere. Somehow, she was still hiding.

North shut the door behind him and put his hands on his hips. For an old russian man, he really looked fatherly. He made an indication to the plate of cookies stationed on a table, but I declined.

"Jack, we can find whoever it is." North held half of a cookie in his hand. "You are our best bet of finding them."

Another one of my nervous tells is when I am messing with my staff. At times, I have randomly frozen things when that happens. I need to learn to control it somehow.

"I know... But I hardly have anything to go on." I scowled. "You do have to admit how vague it all is."

North stroked his beard. "I do have to admit, a music note is vague."

I glanced around the room, trying to dispel some of the nervous energy. The russian nesting dolls sat where they normally did, perfectly in rows, as clean as they always were. There was a new, fresh one. North's gaze wandered over to where I was looking.

"That one is just in case." He plucked it from the shelf. "You never know if Man on Moon is telling us of an upcoming guardian. Or if there is another guardian to come soon."

When he put it back down, his eye brows furrowed a bit. "I thought I was keeping a snow globe there."

I held up my hands. "Hey, I haven't stolen any today."

He seemed relieved before giving me an odd look. "What do you mean 'today'?"

I went to the window and cracked it open. "Better get going! Tons of snow to make!"

Before he could stop me, I jumped out of the window, flying.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Please review and such!


	15. Around Tooth

**Author's Note: **Merry Christmas to all!

* * *

I think it was quite a suitable reaction for me to want to fall out of existence. Maybe not totally, but I needed a bit more courage to really go through with everything.

Tooth refused to tell me anything. She did tell me, however, that she thought I should meet the other guardians. It should be fun, according to her.

But here I was, standing in the Tooth Palace, where all the teeth of small children go after collection. And the Tooth Fairy was actually a half humming bird woman with an expressive headdress. And Jack Frost was actually a teenager who liked messing things up. And I did not even want to think about what the Easter Bunny was like.

"I want to sit down..." I muttered.

Let me explain why I suddenly was going in to such a shock. First off, m earlier realization was finally actually kicking in and knocking me over. Mentally, I felt out of it. And, when I asked Tooth what she was hiding from me, I saw something in her eyes. Fear, panic, and dread

"I want to go home..." I amended.

Tooth looked at me with concern. She lowered herself slightly. "Sure, I can take you home. Are you alright? You look like you are going to be sick or something."

There was a sudden sharp breeze, a biting cold zephyr. It sent a ripple of chills down my back. That was the last thing I felt for awhile.

* * *

When woke up, I was still wearing my street clothes, except for my coat and hat. My sheets were wrapped around me in a cocoon, probably to make sure I didn't jump up and hit somebody.

Well look who managed to do just that.

My awakening was not peaceful. How much I would have liked it to be as if a wave was pushing me ashore, slowly and gently, peacefully. In reality, it was more like I was a cat after falling into an ice cold bath tub.

I sat up, my arms flailing to hit somebody, or anything really. My legs kicked against the blankets, breaking the sheets free from the bed. There was some vocalization of some sort, but there was pretty much no category or spelling to describe it.

Jack got a face full of my hand and made some noise of his own. His landed in a squawking category. Tooth squeaked and jumped back, getting safely out of range. I landed on my back as Jack dropped me ungraciously, which I could not blame him for. I would have dropped me, too, and probably partially intentionally.

Once I managed to finally breathe properly, I saw we were in my cabin. They must have been taking me to the bed room. Silly guardians; beds aren't for Summer! It felt wrong going in there.

Tooth hovered over us. "Summer, are you okay?"

I propped myself up on my elbows. "Yeah, I'm fine." We shared a smile of relief before Jack interrupted that.

"I'm fine, by the way," he shouted. "Thank you oh so much for asking me!"

"Oh, no problem!" I chirped.

Tooth helped me to my feet while Jack nursed his cheek, probably where my hand had initially made contact. Did I punch or scratch him? Or, somehow, did I do both? I felt no remorse. He deserved it.

"Do you want to rest?" Tooth asked. She held Jack's staff in front of her shimmery green body. I wanted to pet her arm, just to feel the soft feathers under my hand.

"No, I'm good." I rubbed my head. "Did I pass out?"

She nodded. "Your mind must have gone into an overload and knocked you out."

I nodded and rubbed my back tenderly. "Thanks for dropping me, Jack! Certainly what you should do to somebody who just passed out!"

"Oh, it was my pleasure, Sunshine!" He smiled and gathered his staff from Tooth.

I turned my focus back to Tooth. "I never got to tell you, I was a huge fan of yours when I was a kid! I drew so many versions of what I thought you would be like, I don't even know how much they total!"

She put a hand over her heart and gave me a huge smile. "Thank you so much!"

"What did you think I was like as a kid?" Jack inquired.

I glanced at him and fought the blush that was racing to my face. There was no way I could let that one out. No way in heck.

"So what is the Easter Bunny like? Because I am sure I have him all wrong in my head?" I asked Tooth. She seemed slightly bewildered that I was blowing off Jack, but she answered my question.

"I would tell you all about him, but I think it would be nice for you to meet him and find out yourself."

I gave a small pout. "Can we not meet him for awhile?" I touched my head tenderly, as if I was about to faint again.

Tooth got the message. Jack waved his hand in the air. "Hello!" he called, drawing out the end of the word. "You didn't answer my question!"

I glanced into the bedroom. They had gotten to the point of opening the door, but I woke up before they could put my inside. Now that I was looking, I could see why I probably did wake up.

The room held the scent of bon fires, but not in an overbearing manner. Almost like the whiff you would get off of somebody's clothes as they passed by. The air was still and stale, not having moved for a long time. With each movement, no matter how small, the door creaked and groaned.

Delicately, I shut the door and took a step back. My eyes looked lamely at the door as my mind went into La-La Land. Both of the guardians watched me with interest.

I shook my head. My mind was hazy, memories weighing it down. "That bedroom was my uncle's," I explained. "I've thought about using it, but I decided not to... Kind of keeping him alive in a way." I gave a sheepish smile.

Tooth fluttered forward. "Summer, I think I should give you something." Suddenly, there was a box in her hand. It looked kind of like a toilet paper roll, only a lot fancier. It was mostly gold, but had bright and colorful accents. My face was stamped on one of the ends, my black hair framing my face.

"Where do you keep that?" Jack asked. He looked honestly confused. "Do you have pockets in your feathers or something?"

This was a fair question. I wanted to pay it mind, but I was more curious about what the box was. She placed it in my hand, and I instantly began to look it over. One of my fingers brushed over the top as I felt the delicate panels over the top.

Then off I was again.

* * *

I was in the parade. Not sitting by the sides in the parade, but on top of one of the floats, waving my hand with a massive smile on my face, in the parade. One of my favorite days in my life! In one of my hands I held a microphone. I sang into it, all patriotic songs. It was the Fourth of July. For an eight year old, this was about the coolest thing to ask for.

The scene shifted. I was suddenly sitting there, reading over the fairy tales with other kids. Then I was standing in a choir, part of a working machine of sound.

Suddenly, I was in the middle of one of my absolute most terrifying moments. I was standing up to my dad for once in my life. I was telling him I was going to sing if I wanted to sing, and I was going to make music whenever I really felt it.

Although I did get permission to continue making music, the results of that moment were somewhat painful to recall. So, I simply didn't.

I suddenly felt like my purpose in life had been spelled out for me.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Sorry about the chapter being so choppy! But we will get some excitement coming up! You may even begin to figure out what the big deal with her is! Review and stuff!


	16. My Hair

**Author's Note: **Another chapter! Merry Christmas to all! I know I should do something for North, but it would be forced. Sorry, guys!

* * *

Tooth placed a hand on my shoulder. She gripped it in a reassuring manner, ready to spring into whatever action was needed. Maybe she thought I might need consoling, or maybe congratulating.

When I came back to it all, I fluttered my eyes. An odd, warm sensation spread around my body, and I had no idea what was causing it.

"I think I should go wash up," I stated as I went to the bathroom. Tooth released me, saying nothing. Jack was gone, but I didn't really care.

I got in the shower and stood under the hot water for awhile. Normally, I would belt songs in the shower, but I had almost no mind for music at the moment. A tune began to play out from my throat, but that was more because I liked the acoustics of the shower.

Long showers normally solved all of my problems. My mind was able to work through just about anything with hot water pouring down. Not this time. When I exited the bathroom, I felt no better. About the only change was my hair falling flat down my back, and a flowery aroma.

Tooth darted up from the spot she had taken up on the sofa. A book was in her hands, which she promptly closed. It was the old story book.

"I am sorry." I clutched a towel in my hand nervously. "It's just not everyday that you find out about things like this."

She fluttered over to me and placed a hand on her shoulder again. "It's perfectly fine. Nobody expected you to act casually."

I wrung at the towel and glanced at her arm. My mind was looking for some sort of distraction, I could tell. It's like I was taking a test, and a song suddenly plays through my head. Anything but what I needed to pay attention to seemed too interesting to look away.

"You know, I imagined you as almost anything except for this."

She giggled. "Is that a compliment?"

"I wouldn't insult you," I replied.

"Then thank you! I think you are really pretty, kind of like a doll."

"Thank you." I gave a small smile and tugged at the towel. "Where did Jack go?"

"He went to go make snow storms and all that other wintery stuff he does." She waved her hand dismissively. "I decided to stay here and chat with you about pretty much anything you might want to talk about."

I looked around the room. It looked somehow brighter and fresher than it had hours before. Everything was still how it was, almost nothing moved from when I had arrived.

"How about we have a spa day? Oh, I have always wanted to have one of those! Can we please have one?" Tooth smiled hopefully. I looked at her with surprise. It was not something you would expect to hear from the Tooth Fairy. Then again, I did not expect to hear anything from the Tooth Fairy.

"Sure. I don't see why not."

* * *

A short time later, I was set up. Tooth insisted that I be the one to be pampered first, as it would be hard to do things with her feathers, and she was used to being waited on. Even though I protested, I found myself almost victim to her tools: a hair dryer, brushes, and an arsenal face masks, lotions, and nail supplies.

"I don't see how any of this is comforting," I stammered as she picked up a jar of some green cream. "I don't see it at all." I could tell from the jar in her hands that I was about to get a face full of something.

"How about we just do my hair and I do your hands," I squealed as she loomed over me. "Fair trade?"

"Oh. Sure." She lowered a bit, a somewhat somber look on her face. "I just got a little carried away."

I could tell by the way her eyes lost their shimmer that I really was a kill joy at that moment. Who was I to kill the Tooth Fairy's dream? Then again, I still was in no mood to be plucked, primed and whatever else she intended to do with me. Especially if it also began with a 'p'.

"How about we strike I deal," I offered meekly. "The next time I have something to dress up for, we can have a spa day."

She looked at me with her outrageous eyes. Not only their size, but their color too, was what was oddest to me. Then again, she was a bird woman with wings. And she had microscopic feet. I really should stop questioning random things.

"Next time?"

"I have no idea when it will be, but yes. Next time."

She held out her hand. "You have yourself a deal!"

I gladly took it and we shook hands. I settled in while she gathered a brush and a hair dryer. This was soothing. The rhythmic tug and the hot hair occasionally hitting my skin felt relaxing compared to all the confusion that my life had taken up.

"So you have a tattoo on your neck," Tooth remarked. "I think it is lovely."

My hand reflexively went up and caressed the mark that was put there. It had hurt more than anything to get it on there, but getting it was what I had dreamed of for years.

"Thanks. I got it just before I headed down to the cabin." I put my hand back down into my lap. "It is kind of my way of reminding myself I will always have music."

"Why would you need to remind yourself of that?" She went to the side of my head and began to brush at the final dampness.

"Because, for me, music is everything."

I clamped my eyes shut and bit my lip. Why was I saying this? It was one of those personal things that you kept to yourself at all times. How horribly uncharacteristic. Nobody would ever open up to somebody they had just met a few hours prior! This was the kind of thing that made cruddy characters in books. The kind of thing that made characters Mary Sues!

Then again, this was the Tooth Fairy. Then again, I really held no regard for my life or sanity. I was already on my way out, so why not try and make myself memorable as this ship slowly saw the last air.

I exhaled and opened my eyes. She acted as if I had not done anything. My hair was now dry, falling in their normal corkscrews. I pushed them over my shoulders so my back was bare of them.

"Any way, music is really important to me. It's a world wide constant! Music has been around forever, and it exists everywhere. If you are blind, you can hear music. If you are mute, you can still make music. Even if you are deaf, you can feel the vibrations of music." I trilled my lips. "And that is why it is something I should do everything not to forget."

"Well that is outrageously deep," Jack said from the window.

He had plenty of time to dodge the pillow I shot at him.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Another Merry Christmas to you all! I hope you enjoyed! Please leave me the gift of a review, which can pretty much be about anything dealing with this story!


	17. Dip Dyed

**Author's Note: **You might be thinking "Hey, Anita Life really needs a life. She is updating this a ton!". That is only partly true. It is debatable that because I am writing fanfiction, I need a life. In reality I do have an actual story I want to be getting to. But I am not for a few reasons. (A) I am actually liking writing this. It's where my muse is at. (B) I am going to Mexico this Saturday. I will have plenty of time to do writing of my own things there. (C) I want to get to a certain point, because I know that it is going to be the worst possible time for me not to be on. So, now knowing that I enjoy making readers cry, enjoy!

* * *

They left pretty quickly after that. I acted extra sleepy, yawning here and stretching there. Tooth was to jittery about something to really notice, and was rattling on about how lovely the cabin was and how much she admired the oral care that both I and my uncle had. Jack got the hint, but, being the most slap worthy person I know, decided to pester me and bother me.

I threw another pillow at him after he made yet another gust of wind go through the house. He took up a spot by the window, crouching on the table.

Tooth glanced at the two of us having a stare down. "Did I miss something?"

Both of us shook our heads. "Nope."

She huffed. "Come on, Jack. We should leave her be."

I nodded. "Yes, leave me be."

He flicked my nose gently, making it feel like I had just spent an hour out in the snow. I sneezed at this sudden change, which made him laugh. Tooth took hold of his arm and began to pull him to the window. He went along, but with a very self satisfied smirk.

"See you tomorrow," she practically sang. "We will take you to meet the Easter Bunny!"

With that, they were gone.

* * *

I slowly came back to consciousness after a long, restful night of sleep. Nothing hurt. Nothing was pressing in my mind. Everything was peaceful. I felt content with being wrapped up in the blankets, the sofa cushions making the perfect mattress for me.

A soft breeze rushed my face. It was icy, a total contrast to how I was feeling at the moment. The breeze came again and I groaned.

"Come on, Sunshine. We have a fun day ahead of us!"

My eyes shot open, prepared to face Frost. Whatever he was doing, it could not be good. To my surprise, he was sitting in front of me on the floor. His staff was resting across his lap.

"Why do you have to wake me up like this?"

"If I have to spend a day dealing with the kangaroo, then nobody gets to have a good day." He rolled the staff. "It's law."

I gripped the blankets and pulled them closer to me. "Challenge accepted."

* * *

My feet landed gently on the lush grass of the warren. On my way down from the sky, I had gotten a great view of the place. Lush greenery everywhere, large eggs that were reminiscent of Easter Island sculptures dotting the place, carvings on stone. An army of white eggs toddled about. Rivers of vibrant colors cut across it all, each one a different color than the next.

I was beginning to like the guardians.

Tooth buzzed away to go fetch the rabbit. I wondered what Jack had meant by kangaroo, but I decided not to dwell on it. Shortly enough, I was going to find out.

One of the Baby Teeth meandered over to the scarlet river and began making minute splashes. An egg joined in shortly after. Jack went over and began to freeze the small droplets mid air. I could tell he was somewhat grumpy.

The following scene was a scene of pure circumstance. Everything was set up just so, perfect to cause it to happen. And the chance was before me. Jack was bent over right by the river.

Have you ever had that moment when you know the memory will never leave you? You suddenly become aware of everything, and it all becomes perfectly clear. To miss this chance would result in a life time of regret and wondering of what would have happened.

I did not even know what I was doing. All I knew was that I was suddenly taking a running start before my foot firmly planted itself on Jack's rear as my momentum was transferred to him. To say he launched would accurate. He certainly was aerodynamic. With his staff in my hands now, he was left powerless.

My only wish was that I could have seen his face.

The splash sent dye flying everywhere. Baby Teeth, a few eggs, and mostly grass got the worst of the scarlet coloring. I didn't get away, but that was certainly worth it.

Jack stood up after a few tense moments. The brilliant red dripped from his clothing, small trails coming from his face.

"Summer!" he bellowed, his voice reverberating. If things had not been silent before, they certainly were now.

I gripped the staff. Even though he was not holding it, his emotions made a wave of power surge through it. A small amount of frost covered my fingers.

"Yes, Jackson?" I acted innocent, inventing a nickname to further this.

He seemed shocked for a moment before regaining his anger. No words could express what he was probably feeling at that moment. "You know, I can understand wanting to add a bit of color, but you took it a bit far." I smiled, continuing the act.

Still, saying nothing, he took a few steps forward. He was not even an arms length away now. In fact, I just leaned forward a bit, we would be in contact.

My mind went black for a second, and my body acted on its own. Before I even knew what my intended action was, I did it.

I kissed him on the cheek.

This threw him off enough for me to turn and run. His hand flew up and touched my fresh lip mark, eyes wild with some unreadable clatter of emotion. If I had tried, I might have made out what he was thinking from the clarity in his icy blue irises. But then I was running as fast as I could with my newly acquired staff in hand.

There was a string of unrepeatable words that followed me. A few times I dared a jeer back, tending to stick to "what would the kiddies say to that kind of language!", which only brought on a greater onslaught. Thankfully I was an endurance runner, so all I needed to do was find a place where I could get out of reach before he was able to catch up.

One of those massive statues came into view. That would work if I managed to climb it. Somehow, I did. With the combination of my legs and using some stored wind power in the staff, I got up to a place where I was able to scramble into a sitting position.

Jack was nowhere to be found.

My breathing was ragged, and I felt sweat forming on my brow. I wiped it away before it could trickle, trying to regain my breath. The staff in my hand pulsed with the odd energy even though it was separated from Jack, which was good enough for me. It helped cool me down.

"What are you doing up here?" asked a man in a thick Australian cadence.

I twisted so I was able to see whoever was speaking. They had taken up a spot on the nearby egg statue, which was just shadowed enough for it to be tricky to make them out. Their basic form was visible.

"I jacked Jack Frost's staff." I waved the stolen object in the air. "He wants it back."

"That's right!" Jack seemed to materialize at the bottom of the egg. He was still soaking wet with red dye, his face looking pink as it formed streams down his face and neck. His hair was slicked down, as deep of a red as there could be. Even his normally blue hoodie was looking majorly different, the ice pattern looking like streaks of blood on a sky blue canvas.

"Give me back my staff!" he barked.

"Sorry," I called down to him. "I can't take you seriously, Frosty."

He took off his sweatshirt and chucked it at me. As it flew up, it did not seem like it was going to hit me. I remembered that he was an expert at snowball fights and probably had impeccable aim. Rather than let it hit its planned target, the staff, I took it in my hand.

"Thanks for this, too!"

I could swear steam was coming off of the boy. His face looked various shades of red, and I had to try and figure out if it was because of the dye or if it was actually him.

The man in the shadow laughed. "Blimey! Frost, you've been bested by a barbie!"

Jack bore holes in the source. "Shut it, Kangaroo!"

The Easter Bunny emerged from the shadows. "Make me!"

* * *

**Author's Note: **Review and all that fun stuff!


	18. Meeting the Easter Bunny

There have been many books and movies recommended to me over the years. Occasionally, I would be quick on it, getting it done within no time. But, sometimes, I did not get it done quite fast enough. There is a certain code that people talk in, which changes by what they are talking about. For them, it is a natural second vocabulary full of references and jokes that only people who have read or seen the content fully appreciate, unless it has been explained to them.

This came to mind as I saw the Easter Bunny and heard his voice. Jack did call him the kangaroo. Now I understood.

Jack turned back to face me. "Give me my stuff back."

"Fly up and take them back, then!" I waved them over his head. Good thing I was about three feet over him. Otherwise I probably would have been pummeled into the ground.

The Easter Bunny looked to me. "Did you shove him in the river?"

I nodded. Then I hesitated. Was this going to be seen as a good or a bad thing? Both of the men seemed to have a rivalry or something of that sort going on.

The rabbit laughed. He was a good six foot something with silver fur with patterns of darker grey tones. When his eyes opened, I noted their grassy green color. Yet, he was a rabbit.

"Good one!"

"Don't encourage her!" Jack pounded on the rock.

Tooth shot from between the trees. Her eyes scanned over the whole scene. I wondered what she might be thinking at this moment. A dip dyed Jack with no sweatshirt, only a thin cotton tee that was clinging to his body, hair slicked back, and his jaw set. His ice blue eyes were ablaze with rage. Then there was me, holding his sweatshirt and a staff, almost totally dry myself, and the rabbit.

"What happened?" she asked as she lowered herself to be more even with the Easter Bunny. Even though she just arrived, she could tell that being next to Jack was not a good option.

"Hey, do you think we could was the dye out of this?" I asked as I held out the article of clothing to them. "After Jack dropped it in the river, it would be a shame for it to become useless."

"Dropped it!" Jack jumped up, finally getting enough sense to try grabbing for me. Hopefully he wouldn't, as I did not want to hit my head or anything on the way down. "You shoved me in!"

"Wrong!" I took a small shuffle away from his location. "I kicked you in. If you are going to go around accusing me of things, make sure you accuse me correctly!"

Tooth looked at us, bewildered. "What?"

I hooked the sweatshirt to the end of the staff and rested the staff on my shoulder. Now I understood why Jack did it so much. The wood is soft and worn from having been placed there many times over. Even the motion of putting it there feels natural.

"Jack was asking for it," I began. "He was doing something right by the waters edge and the moment was just too perfect to pass up."

I leaned slightly over the edge to taunt him a second time. "Like you wouldn't have done the same thing, given the chance."

He almost growled.

My eyes began to act on their own and scanned him over. They caught the way his muscles flexed as he pounded on the rock. The perfect shape of his body caught by the soaking shirt. The dye that coated his near perfect face. Was it natural for me to be noticing that much on a single guy? Especially because I knew him. I knew how annoying he could be. How heroic, too. And his dealing with small children was pretty awesome. And, when did this suddenly become a positive thing to be thinking about him?

I took a shuffle away from him and turned back to the other guardians. Hopefully, they did not see me gazing at the winter spirit and skipped over the fact I was close to blushing. If they asked me to speak, I might stammer. What was with me today?

Tooth to the rescue! She fluttered in the air near the Easter Bunny and gestured to me with her hand. "This is Summer. Summer, this is the Easter Bunny."

The rabbit nodded. "You can just call me Bunny, though."

The contrast of his voice to what he was saying was almost comical. I mean, he sounded like he could pummel you to bits with a single foot. What he was saying was something a four year old would be caught saying.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Bunny!" I said, holding a hand out. He took it in his fluffy paw. The calluses on it felt rough against my hand, then the satin lining of his fur felt like a nice pair of gloves. I probably should not say that out loud.

"It's mine. It's not everyday you meet somebody who can get Frost's goat."

Jack had taken up a new position, trying to grab at my feet. His hand brushed the side of my ankle, almost causing me to scream. I shuffled again.

"This probably was not the best option of a hiding place," I muttered. The rabbit chuckled.

"Eh, you'll be fine. Frost is useless without his staff."

Jack let out another string of curses, these ones consisting of ones aimed at Bunny, too. He was really getting angry now. I paid him no mind, figuring I would be able to hear him coming next time he was able to do something. With his shouting, I certainly would be able to know where he was.

All of the sudden, I felt a sopping arm around me. The staff was suddenly torn from my hands, the soft wood slipping out of my grasp. Looks like somebody had hidden something up their sleeve this whole time. Both Bunny and Tooth look surprised, Tooth making an 'o' with her lips.

Before I could even think to struggle, we were already flying through the air. I knew immediately I was about to be dunked myself. My mind, being the stupid thought processor it is, offered me the following thought: Revenge is a dish best served cold. Jack must be the main server!

"Frost, put me down!" I shouted as I tried to twist myself free. It was both futile and pointless. Even if I did get what I wanted, I would hit the ground and my body would break.

"Sure thing, princess!" He slowed us to a stop over the water. "Ready?"

"No," I whimpered with a shake of my head. Wild curls from my head fell down in rings in front of my face. They only made the red water look demonic. Maybe if enough of them fell forward I wouldn't see it. That might make it better.

He loosened his grip on me, and I felt myself slipping. If there wasn't enough of a grip, I would slip right through his grip.

"Jack, no, please," I said. My voice had a heavy tremor and cracked when I reached the last word.

"Too bad." His arm released me, and I fell.

* * *

**Author's Note: **I have pretty short chapters, don't I? Once I start getting to 1,200 or so, I find a way to end them. I think it works. Tell me what you think. Any way, review! It makes me a happy author!


	19. Cleaning Up

Let me tell you, although I was not that high above the dye, I felt nothing but pure terror as I fell. Sure, I probably deserved something for what I had done, but not this. Never this.

Just before I was certain to crash through the water, I felt something hit me. Something large, strong and soft. A moment later I was on solid, dry ground. Never before was I more thankful for dirt existing.

I felt an overwhelming compulsion to just sit down and cry. So, I did. There was no will power left in me after that. I didn't want to cry, I just did. Somehow it felt therapeutic. Jack probably was thinking about how much of a cry baby I was, as this was the second time I burst into tears for almost no reason. They probably all thought I was a cry baby.

I rubbed furiously at my eyes. When I opened them, I saw that Tooth was hovering near by me, scared to come too close. Jack was currently in a heated argument with Bunny. They looked like they were about to go to war. Tooth had her attention divided between them and me, as if waiting for the time she needed to jump into either situation.

I stood up after a moment of contemplation. There was going to have to be an explanation for that. Everybody's attention was on me the second I moved out of my ball.

"Sorry about that." I did one final sweep under my eyes before straightening myself up to my full height. "I just kind of had a little panic attack. Never learned to swim and all."

Jack received a hard punch in his arm from Bunny. He took a side step and winced, rubbing the contact point after it had happened. I was not fully sure if his expression was from guilt, the pain or both.

Tooth put a feathery arm around me. The tips of her feathers tickled at my bare arm, which almost made me squirm. I was fine with them knowing my fears; having them know I was ticklish was a whole other discussion. Especially because one was a trickster and the other two probably had ample ability to activate this with a single touch.

"It's fine, sweetie. We all have our fears," Tooth said. The men nodded in agreement. Nobody said anything for a minute after that. Nobody really knew what to say.

Tooth was the one that broke the silence. "Maybe we should go get Jack cleaned up."

* * *

There are a few things that I would never do in my life. One of which is put somebody through one of their greatest fears. Watching her cry her eyes out afterwards was the worst part. Each tear tore into me like a blade of fire. Each tear was my fault.

As we headed back, I felt absolutely horrible. We used one of the Kangaroo's tunnels to return to Summer's cabin. There she had a shower and a washing machine. She walked with Tooth in front, Tooth still holding her in a side hug. Bunny was behind me, and it was easy to tell that he was debating a few moves he could use me that would probably be only legal in Australia.

I stood under the stream of water and stared at the wall. The tiles was a normal flat white, but now were getting streaked with the red dye. My hair felt terrible when it was being slicked with it. My jacket and shirt were currently in the wash, as I had insisted on keeping my pants on. Nobody really wanted to argue with me on that one.

Bunny, Tooth and Summer were chatting in the living area. It must be so odd for her. Honestly, I was surprised that she was doing this well. I didn't really know what to expect from her. The door to the bathroom was open, mostly so Tooth could ensure I wasn't making snow to attack Bunny or Summer with. Although they were conversing, Summer was walking around the room.

I stepped out from under the water and went to the door. To make sure that I wasn't going to get water everywhere, I simply froze it all. This made my hair stick up at awkward angles and made small white trails of ice show up across my body, but I didn't really mind about how I looked at the moment.

"How I am I supposed to get all of this dye out?" I asked, stepping into the living area.

Bunny was sitting on the sofa much like a normal person was. His legs always confused me, because they looked and moved like haunches, but crossed like human legs.

"Just keep scrubbing." He glared at me. The normal amount of humor that colored it was now absent.

Tooth paused to look me over. "You still have plenty of pink."

I glanced to Summer. Her eyes were averted and her face was a slight pink, slowly becoming a more prominent red with each second. Man, she really hated me right then, didn't she? She couldn't even look in my direction.

I sulked back into the shower and let the water wash over me. It was a bit too warm for my likings, but I supposed that for somebody like summer this was plenty cold.

"Bunny, don't turn on the cold water in the sink," I heard Summer say from the other room. "It makes the shower water burning hot."

Moments later, I found out exactly what she was getting at.

* * *

Now fully clothed, to my joy, Jack was sitting on the arm of the sofa. His gangly legs dangled over, and I couldn't help but wonder how muscled they were. The rest of his body was pretty well formed, without being excessively buff or chiseled. Nope, nope, nope, not going to gaze. I won't even look in his direction to fix that problem!

Nobody really knew what to say.

"Again, sorry about crying." I said. It seemed like the best thing to say at the time.

"Fears are fine to have, so long as you don't let them control your life and actions," Bunny replied. He shrugged. I wondered how his legs worked, as they seemed to work like both a human's and a rabbit's.

She bit my cheek. "It kind of has in the past. I've been so scared of water that I never even learned to ice skate."

Tooth instantly stopped her fluttering and looked at me with horror before looking at Jack with the same look. Only then did I realize who I was saying this around. Jack was all about ice!

He looked at me with a raised eye brow. I could tell from the way his cheek was starting to flex that he was trying not to give me a wicked grin. Maybe I just put him on-wait for it-thin ice. Okay, bad joke done. But, seriously, this was a sensitive topic as seen by my previous reaction.

"I could teach you if you want." His wording and actions were delicate. Great, now I became the time bomb of the group.

I straightened myself up and looked dead at him. "Teach me how to ice skate, Frosty."

* * *

**Author's Note: **I am going to be pumping out chapters as quickly as I can for the next few days. Hopefully I will get to a good point soon enough. Things will be fluffy, so don't worry about that! Review and all the good stuff that makes me a happy author!


	20. Ice Skating

**Author's Note: **The obligatory ice skating scene. If you haven't seen the movie yet, then **SLIGHT** **SPOILERS****. **That is all.

* * *

The next day, I stood by the lake's edge. On my feet were a pair of nice ice skates that Jack was borrowing from Santa's Workshop. I had a terrible feeling some child was not going to get what they wanted this year for Christmas because I wanted to learn how to ice skate, but it was already too late to fix any possible problem.

Still, I stood by the edge of the lake. Jack floated down and landed on the ice, bare feet and all. He had a small smile on his face. I chose not to comment on the slightest bit of red still hanging out near his left ear. In my panicked mode, I hardly even noticed it. Even though I knew deep down he wouldn't do such a thing, I felt as if his smile was a devilish smirk and his staff a pitchfork.

Bunny was nearby, going nowhere near the lake. Tooth would have been here, but she had work she had to get done. Stuff had been building up as she spent time with me. Bunny had plenty of time to kill, as his holiday wasn't for months. Still, he had a set of eggs which his painted pensively. Somehow, I knew he was going to be able to spring into butt-whooping mode within seconds of me needing him to. Probably because of his constant glances up. That was a consolation.

Jack held out a hand to me. "I'll help you around."

I glanced at the ice, then to his hand before looking away. "Is the ice thick enough?"

He stamped his staff down and I heard a crackling noise. "If it wasn't before, it is now." His hand continued to stay out in front of him.

I glanced at his hand again, then to Bunny, who was now focused in on an egg. He probably thought nothing could go wrong this early in the game. Well, I certainly wouldn't let things get to a point where I would need any help.

"You know, maybe it's not the best time for me to learn." I took a step back, wobbling on the skates. They were hard to walk in! "Maybe I can learn later. Maybe next year or something!"

Jack rolled his eyes and took my hand. Through my glove, I could feel the icy coldness of his flesh, but hardly. My glove was pretty thin to begin with. He got a good hold on my hand and gave me a soft tug toward the ice.

"Come on, would I trick you?"

"Yes, you always play tricks!"

Instantly, he shattered. His eyes suddenly became glassy, distant, far, the light that normally made the ice hue dance and sparkle was now gone. I could see the smile on his face melt into a limp line. Whatever I had done, I had broken Jack.

"Jack?" He didn't respond. I squeezed his hand. "Jack?" Still nothing. Bunny had now taken notice.

"What happened?" he asked. There was a slight look of concern on his face.

"I think I broke him." My free hand went and touched his face, ready to pull back and smack him.

Jack snapped back to reality and gave my hand a tug. "Broke me? Never!"

Suddenly, he blasted off of the ground and had me skidding over the ice. My blades cut into the glass like surface, kicking up small shavings of the ice. Never once did his presence ever waver as he twirled me around. Occasionally, he would give me advice, such as opening my feet wider or the opposite. Slowly but surely, I started to get the hang of it.

Jack kept a steady pace next to me. Occasionally, he would begin to turn me in a new direction or speed up. Each time, I panicked and squirmed. Each time, he had to stop me from face planting into the ice. And, each time, he got a threatening glare from Bunny.

"Alright, I think you are ready!"

"Ready for what?"

He grinned. "Going on your own."

Suddenly, he shot us out at least one hundred feet away from the shore. I squeaked and protested, but my calls were falling on deaf ears. Jack was up to no good and Bunny was only going to jump in if I really needed it. Otherwise, the eggs were getting decorated and I was subject to the will of Jack Frost.

That was probably about the most terrifying thing.

Jack slowed us to a stop and released me. He jumped to five feet away. The perfect distance to ensure I wasn't going to beat him down through the ice and slaughter him.

Shortly, I wondered what color his blood was and if it was hot. Or if he even had blood. If you were a killer, or going to be one, blood could certainly be a factor. Some people might like the feeling of fresh, hot blood between their fingers. Others might avoid it at all costs. It was more of a preference thing. I wondered how many times the fear of blood had stopped a killer. It probably had happened. Then again, they could devise so many more ways to kill somebody without risking blood. Then again, there was the person to consider. Were they active? What kind of stuff would they do? Because chances are, the chances of killing and getting away are probably not going to be springing up constantly.

What I should start doing, personally, is avoid things that could cause my bloodless death. Stuff where my body would not be found for twenty years. That was the thing that scared me the most. Dying and not having anybody know what happened to me. Dying and then having the search for me stop.

Jack waved a hand in front of my face. "You okay, Sunshine?"

I blinked. "Yes. I am."

He looked at the shore then back to me. "You sure?"

"My mind just went to-murder." I cleared my throat. "Back to shore!"

I was unsure of how to really start myself off. Experimentally, I took a step forward and lingered on it. This seemed to work, so I did it repetitively. This worked really well.

"Murder." Jack kept pace with me, his feet sliding across the ice as easily as my blades were. Only the faint sound of wind accompanied us on our trip back.

I slowed into the shore. "Bunny, guess who can ice skate now!"

The rabbit nodded, and I was unsure if he actually cared or if I was bothering him. Jack drifted in next to me. Maybe that was it. Boys had such rivalries.

"Guess who is going to be learning how to do it really well!" Jack took my hand and began to tow me away.

"Guess who can plan a murder!" I shot back.

We continued to send volleys of 'guess who' statements as he took me further out into the lake to teach me how to really skate.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Oh man, I am having so much fun with these. You guys are going to hate me when I leave for the week, I swear. I figure by the time you have reached here, you are pretty into it. After all, you don't read 20 chapters of a fanfiction just to blow it all off.


	21. At the Warren

I sat in the soft grass of the warren the next day. To my surprise, those egg things actually had two faces and turned. They also walked! At a younger age, I might have tried running circles around them to see if their face would be able to keep up with me.

But today, my body was sore and I had no desire to run myself ragged. Jack had kept me out on the ice for hours, letting me stop occasionally. Only after I faked a fall and nailed him in the face with a snowball did he resign and let me rest.

Bunny extended an invitation for me to spend a day at the warren the next day. Just to see everything. He also probably wanted to make sure Jack wasn't corrupting me, or wanted to warn me of the dangers of the Frost. Turns out, I was partially correct. He also wanted to make it clear that Easter was so much more important than Christmas.

"Well, here is something that bothers me," I began at one point during our discussion. Both of us were painting eggs while sitting in the grass near one of the dye rivers. Each of his eggs looked like a Picasso painting compared to mine. "And, don't hate me for saying this. I have actually heard a ton about how Christmas and Easter came to be."

He nodded, encouraging me to continue. We were just trying to find something to talk about at this point, so a debate was probably welcome.

"Christmas is supposedly the birthday of Jesus. But Jesus' birthday was probably in the fall. Christmas is right around the time of the winter solstice, so it is believed that the holiday is celebrated off of other pagan traditions. Including a man in a red suit."

Bunny paused his painting and looked at me. "So?"

"So, I suppose what I am getting at, is that the myth of Santa, pardon the myth remark, was uncertain for awhile, and now we have the cheery guy in the red suit running around."

He stared at me. "Let me get this straight. You are asking me about how we exist?"

"Well," I focused on my egg. "I'm just wondering how you guys really come to be."

Bunny went back to his egg. If he had had an Adam's apple, it would have been bobbing as he swallowed and tried to find out how to say what he wanted.

"We were all people once."

He inspected his egg, finally deciding it was finished. You would think by his actions what he was saying was that the sky was blue or that we breathed air. He picked up a new egg fresh from the river and began to paint on that one.

"Once upon a time, each of us was born and had a life. For whatever reason, we died." He looked at me, finally taking his attention away from the eggs.

"There is a man who lives on the moon. He has power and knowledge beyond anything you could really comprehend. He knows what is in everybody's hearts and what they need. When he speaks, you listen. Generally, he only gives hints. Vague ideas by which you must solve a whole puzzle."

I somehow knew that he was implying something. Something really deep and that was going to twist and bend my world. I felt nervous and touched my tattoo, reassuring myself in something. Random, I know, but comforting.

Bunny's whiskers bristled. His ears sprang up and swiveled. That was what rabbits did when they felt danger! When he saw my look, he calmed down a bit.

"Sorry, I thought I felt Jack coming in here."

I had the strangest feeling that he was hiding something. He might have been lying about the whole Jack thing, too. Jack had gone off to cause wintery fun all over the place. Still, there was no knowing with Jack.

I went back to painting my egg. "So how does this man on the moon have to do with you guys being who you are?"

Bunny went back to painting his egg, too. Only now, his movements were the slightest bit more on edge. His whiskers were more bristled and his ears a bit more up than usual.

"He picks us from death and makes us who we are. Eventually, we became guardians."

"Eventually?" I glanced over at him. "Why eventually?"

"You become a guardian if and when the world's children need you. Tooth, North-I mean Santa-, the sandman and I were all obvious choices for this. Children came to take us as part of reality really quickly." He twirled his egg and gave it a perfect stripe around. "Jack, on the other hand, had to wait almost four hundred years to get the time of day from anybody. That was when he became a guardian."

I stopped my painting. "Wait. Why didn't he go up to kids and show them who he was?"

"Only believers can see you. Only believers can touch you. They would simply walk through him if he got in their way. His voice had no existing to them."

I stared at my egg while my eyes lost focus. Poor Jack. He would probably hate it if I said it, but poor, poor Jack! That sounds like absolute torture. Something worse than death. Nothing but sorrow and pain for nearly four hundred years! If he was here, I probably would have hugged him. Just marched on up and put my arms around him.

By the time I got back to a place where I could talk again, Bunny was already half way done with his next egg. He was fast! I got back to my painting, which was no where near as nice or beautiful.

"So, how is North?" I made an odd face. Calling Santa North was quite a change. It made sense if you thought about it.

"He's panicking as he does every year. Christmas Eve and all."

I paused. "Oh, yeah. Tomorrow is Christmas."

He didn't even bother looking up from his egg. "Lost track of the days?"

I nodded. "Yeah."

He grinned. "If it weren't for North's constant reminders, I probably would forget too."

"Does he celebrate Christmas at all? He puts gifts in homes, but aside from that, does he do anything."

Bunny nodded. "Oh yes he does. We start celebrating at the workshop while he is gone. When he comes back, the party really kicks up. It's more of a social thing than anything."

"That sounds fun." I set down my egg, finally feeling like it was complete. When I tried to pick up another one, it booked it away from me.

Bunny rolled his eyes and handed me a fresh one that was walking around near him. "Sorry, they can be a bit dodgey. Would you like to go to the Christmas party?"

I felt myself smile as a warm feeling exploded in my stomach. For once, I was getting an honest invitation somewhere! "Sure!"


	22. Making Music

**Author's Note: **There is a song in here that you have to have listened to to fully understand what is going on in the scene! Please listen to "Cups" from_ Pitch Perfect_if you have not heard it yet. **You may not get the full understanding of the scene without knowing what the song sounds like. **

* * *

I found it almost odd how my life was slowly becoming a day to day thing. Normally I would drag myself through a week then spend what felt like years on a single day. The phrase "time flies when you are having fun" was a mystery to me. But now, I understood it fully.

I found myself tapping my foot and waiting for the arrival of somebody who would take me to have fun. I found myself looking around at things that made me smile. People smiled at me with honesty. Somehow, I knew things were going to be great. I just knew it!

"Summer!" Tooth exclaimed when she saw me. "Bunny said you were coming!"

She flew over and wrapped her arms around me. I returned the gesture, being more careful because of her wings. The tips of the speeding feathers brushed at my arms and gave me chills.

Bunny hopped off somewhere to do something. I had no idea, really. His whiskers seemed to be in a twist.

"Hey there, Sunshine!" Jack called. He walked on the railing and ended up settling down on it next to me. His staff was before him, but I knew that he was probably holding it tighter than he normally did.

"Hey there, Frosty!"

"Anybody know where Sandy is?" Jack inquired. "He isn't around anywhere."

"He's working, Jack," Tooth replied. "He will get here around the time North does. Like they do every year."

I looked around the workshop. It looked as busy as ever, only this time nobody was working. All of the yetis were milling around and talking to each other in grunt-enese. Small elves dashed around, causing chaos where ever they went.

Jack looked around before settling his gaze on me. "Summer, would you like to sing a bit? We like to have a few performances through out the day, and you could start us off."

Tooth went up a few inches in the air.

"Who normally starts?" I inquired.

"The yetis. Then I jump in and play the guitar while I sing." He cleared his throat and puffed out his chest ever so slightly, like this was some great thing that demanded respect. "I am quite the musician."

"You? A musician?" I snorted. "I could make more music with a cup than you could with a guitar!"

His eye brows went up. I tried not to notice how they were a darker color than the rest of his hair. I tried not to notice that the red was all gone from his hair. I fought the urge to reach up and feel how silky his hair was. He leaned in a few inches, and I caught the sparkle of a dare in his eye. There were too many things for me to resist noticing that I failed all of them.

"Is that a challenge, Sunshine?"

"You bet it is, Frosty."

* * *

have no idea how this even happened. My big mouth just lead me straight to it! Not only was I put into this task, which I was pretty sure I could win, but an audience was forming. Yetis began to drift away from their conversations to look at us.

Jack had gotten a yeti to quickly whip him up an acoustic guitar. He got the advantage of having a nice, tuned instrument. Something told me that he was better than he looked, and he looked pretty good.

Then there was me. I stood near him, as he was sitting on the railing again. I had a single red plastic cup.

"So who goes first?" I asked.

My palms were beginning to get a little bit sweaty. This was not good. This was not good at all. I was about to have my but handed to me in a musical competition. If there was anything I never wanted to lose, it was this.

Jack have his guitar a strum. "I can start us off."

I have him the nod that said 'go ahead' and he began. His fingers moved nimbly over the strings as he sang out the classic, 'Hey Jude'. I was too nervous to pay any attentionWhen he got to the chorus, the yetis joined in with him. My blood was pounding too fast for me to notice anything except for my nerves. I really wish I had been paying attention.

Suddenly, I felt Jack flick the tip of my nose. "You're up, Sunshine!"

The yetis slowed their clapping to a stop and all focused in on me. I felt like I should melt. Just curl up as my stomach became a super nova and let it. Having them all staring at me like that was driving me insane.

I shut my eyes and took a deep breath. I gripped the cup before setting it back down on the railing. Suddenly, I knew what I was going to do. The song I learned and mastered when I wasn't even ten years old.

I wiped my hands off on my pants and rubbed them together. My stomach was starting to cool off. Before I could even hesitate a second longer, I began the song.

* * *

It started with two claps, then three taps on the top of the cup. She picked it up, set it back down and continued through the rest of the motions. The sound made a great rhythm and background.

"I got a ticket for the long way round. Two bottle of whiskey for the way. And I sure would like some sweet company, and I'm leaving tomorrow wha'dya say?"

The yetis leaned forward, their eyebrows up. What they were thinking was unknown to me. I would find out at the end for the song, if I ever did find out. Their grunting was at times far away from any language I knew.

"When I'm gone, when I'm gone- You're gonna miss me when I'm gone."

Here is the thing about performing. You can be nervous. That's actually a good thing, because then your hubris won't trip you up. But then there is the euphoria that comes with the performance. The energy the audience is giving you. They amplify what you give off, so you better make it good.

This advice would be lost on Summer. She was the perfect example of it. Although she had a bit of a slow start, she quickly got into the rhythm. While she sang, she danced.

"You're gonna miss me by my hair," she sung as she gave her hair a small flip. "You're gonna miss me everywhere," she did a little hip wiggle, "oh you're gonna miss me when I'm gone."

That was when I really started to notice just about everything about her that she was doing. Her eyes had a dancing gleam. She was in her turf, a place where she was always going to win. The small smirk that she got while singing was intoxicating. Her attitude filled the air. I was right, she did have a ton of sass hidden away.

"I got my ticket for the long way round. The one with the prettiest of views. It's got mountains, it's got rivers, it's got sights to give you shivers and it sure would be prettier with you."

I swallowed. I had to look away from her before I totally lost myself. She was like a slippery slope. If you even thought about her too long, she would fit her way into everything. Part of me thought that it might not be that bad of a thing to do that.

That is when it hit me. This was a love song. A song asking somebody to come along with them on a journey. If I were to go on a journey and I was inviting somebody, who would I invite? Tooth and I were good friends, North was like my father, Bunny like my brother and Sandy like a best friend. Summer would probably be the one I would take along, though. I have no idea why, but it just seemed like the logical thing to do.

I resumed staring at her, mostly out of sheer awe. Her confidence was almost tangible, and she had a glow to her. It was beautiful. She was beautiful. But not in the romantic manner. More like a work of art, I suppose. Something you want around.

"You're gonna miss me by my walk, you're gonna miss me by my talk, oh you're gonna miss me when I'm gone."

She slammed the cup down for the last time. Just like that, it was over. The room was left in a semi-stunned silence, mostly because nobody knew that the girl had such a thing in her. The second she was done, she turned and gave me a look that could only be read as a 'you wanna go?' kind of look.

I grinned once my jaw returned under my control. The yetis clapped wildly and cheered. I think one of them even began to cry. Yeti's; who would have known? She dolled out a few bows around the room. A few kisses were blown into the air.

Which included North.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Sorry about that odd and awkward scene. I just had to put it there for reasons. Did you think I was getting a little carried away there? Please tell me in a review!


	23. North and Sand

North was surprisingly, well, normal. Comparatively to the other guardians and my perspectives on them, he was pretty close. He was still a towering man with a white, fluffy beard.

The three main differences I saw where as follows:

1. He had a russian accent.

He had tattoos on his arms. One for naughty, one for nice. It vaguely reminded me of those people who get tattoos on their knuckles that say "LOVE and "HATE". I knew somebody that had a set of tattoos like that. He lost his pinkie, so his knuckles say "LOVE and "HAT".

He probably could have kicked anybody's butt to the curb. Although he was a little plump, I didn't doubt that there was probably a ton of muscle under each layer of fat.

My nerves were suddenly set on edge. I was mortified of what might result from my life. This year I wasn't exactly an angel. I had done a few things, I admit. But I wasn't horrible. Then again, I had broken into his workshop, which was probably an automatic naughty listing. But Jack did make me do it.

"Your music is very nice," he said with his arms out stretched like he was either going to curtsy (which I seriously doubted), hug me or just doing it for the sake of doing something. "I am Santa Claus, but you call me North, okay?"

I nodded. My face was probably as white as Jack's was on a daily basis. Inwardly, I knew I had absolutely nothing to be afraid of, but fear still was attacking me from the inside. It had been happening quite a lot lately.

A small man drifted in front of North. A great big set of hands appeared over his head and clapped, and his hands were giving me two thumbs up. Then, he held out a hand to me.

"Uh." I glanced at Tooth then Jack. Tooth gave me an encouraging nod. Jack was, what was he doing? He was looking at everything but me, a scowl fixed on his face. Looks like somebody is a sore loser.

I reached out and took the golden man's hand. It felt like I had just taken hold of a pile of sand with especially small grains. It was soft and warm.

"I'm Summer," I said.

"That is Sandman," North spoke for the man. "Sandy for short."

He smiled and gave me a nod. His wispy golden hair bounced with each movement he did. I thought it was adorable how his lower body slowly shrunk until his feet were the size of baby feet. Odd, but adorable.

A speaker began to blast music around the workshop. They yetis wasted no time getting down. Elves, which looked a little demented and insane, began to run around wildly. The party had begun.

North put a hand on my shoulder. It enveloped almost my entire shoulder. "Would you like to hang out with us guardians?"

I felt like my options were be confused by a bunch of people who like me, or be confused by a bunch of creatures that could probably crush me with one hand or do serious damage to my ankles. The choice was easy.

* * *

I was ushered into a room where Bunny was hiding, and the others quickly showed up. It was now easy to tell why Bunny was in here. He wanted to be part of whatever conversation was going on without having to celebrate Christmas. I doubted Santa celebrated after Easter.

The room was massive. There was a globe that looked to be the size of an elephant. It had all of the continents, lights swarming the various continents. In lesser populated areas, there weren't as many lights. There was a control panel, but I didn't bother to read what they various buttons were saying.

Tooth fluttered with a few of her Baby Teeth near the control panel. North had a seat which he gladly took up. Bunny leaned against one of the walls and acted cool and macho, like were inconveniencing him. Jack sat on top of the globe, which I found rather comical. He still did not look at me.

I swallowed whatever emotions I was feeling and turned to face North.

"I'm sorry. I'm probably number one on the Naughty List," I said.

This made North laugh. It wasn't as jolly as you would expect it to be, but it was still pretty cheerful. He put a hand on his puffy gut and patted it as he calmed down.

"You? On the Naughty List?"

I nodded. "Yeah... I have been far from an angel."

"But you have always had the best intentions," he stated with a finger in the air. "And that is what matters. Tell me, Summer, why are you here?"

I blinked. "Why am I here? I was invited?"

He shook his head. "Of course you were invited, but why were you invited?"

"Because Bunny likes me," I said hopefully. Bunny nodded, so I knew it was a true statement and I wasn't jumping to any conclusions.

"Yes, yes. Why does Bunny like you?"

"Because I shoved Jack into the dye river?"

North gave me a surprised look. "You what?"

I pointed at him. "See why I thought I was on the Naughty List?"

"If anything, shoving Frost into the river would put her on the Nice List."

Jack protested. "I can hear you, you know!" He looked at Bunny indignantly. When he glanced in my direction, I saw his eyes go wide before he looked away again. Jerk.

North shook his head. "Where was I?"

I rolled my eyes. "You were asking me a ton of questions to get me to think deeper. You were probably trying to get me to recognize my spirit and humor that makes me important somehow. I am possible guardian material, if the Man on the Moon chooses me. In fact, I am probably only here because the Man on the Moon told you about me."

They all went dead silent. Nobody made a single move, except to gawk at me.

"Sorry." I sat down in a chair I had found. A stray elf that was milling about the room rushed up to me. I had no idea what to do, so I simply started petting it like a dog. Turns out that worked quite well.

I both heard and felt Tooth fly over before she said anything. "Summer, we didn't take you in because the Man on the Moon told us to."

The elf sat down and leaned into my hand. It was really, really strange. If it started to droll, I was going to draw the line. It reminded me of my uncle's dog. I wish I had a dog.

North cleared his throat. "Summer, I have a gift for you."

I winced and stood up. It was going to be a lump of coal or some really weak word of advice about how to live my life better. That is what I deserved, but I was not looking forward to getting it.

I stood up, my hand slipping away from the elf, much to its dismay. North held out a golden envelope with a shimmering red ribbon. Okay, maybe it was a fancy word of advice.

Slowly, I walked over. In my mind I was chanting good things.

I was among friends. These people liked me. I am a good person. I am kind of a good person. I'm not really a good person, but deep down I meant well. I am a person. I am a person. I can do this.

I took the envelope. North gave me a huge smile, a warm and fatherly one. It was what I needed to motivate myself to open it.

Inside was a ticket to the Nutcracker. My life long dream.

* * *

**Author's Note: **I hope you like my versions of Sandy and North. I'm trying to portray them in a good way. Review what you think!


	24. Spa Day

Have you ever been so happy that your mind stalls for a moment and you have to think about how happy you are? When you are just so shocked at what has just happened that your body builds up energy like a wave that crashes down the second you can think straight?

That was me right then.

For most people, the Nutcracker was probably just another one of those frilly ballets that was shown every year. But just because it is like that for some does not mean that all of us share that view.

For me, the Nutcracker is joy in a show. When I was young, my parents had put me through ballet. I was far from being a natural at it. But I worked hard for months to master the Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy. I think it was one of the few times I actually overcame anything major in my life. It was the first thing I also did in front of an audience, too.

Needless to say, I had fond memories of the play. Yet, I hadn't been for the longest time.

"This is the best thing I have ever gotten," I said once I could control my voice. "You cannot even comprehend how important this is to me."

North shrugged. "It has been the first thing on your Christmas list for years."

I hugged it to my chest, but stopped when I realized I might wrinkle it. It took tons of will power not to just jump straight in the air and squeal with joy. "But why am I getting this now?"

"You deserve it."

And that was the cherry on top of everything.

I deserved it. I deserved it! I wasn't a bad person! I wasn't worth nothing! I had done something worth while enough for this. I was elated. How many times I said thank you was innumerable. I hugged just about everybody in that room, except for Jack. I was too happy to really care.

* * *

The next morning, Tooth woke me up around noon. The party had gone on all day, yesterday, and I was only able to fall into bed around two in the morning. I think I danced with Bunny, Sandy, North, a few yetis and maybe three elves. Jack seemed to sulk most of the time, and I occasionally found him standing next to an icy elf sculpture.

"You ready for today?" she chirped. Today was going to be our spa day. When I made that promise, I did not even imagine it being this close.

"Yeah," I replied as I stretched out. My back gave a small crack and I groggily stood up. "Let me guess, you need me to go shower."

"Correct!" She gave me a thumbs up. "You get all bathed while I get all the stuff I need."

I had mixed feelings about today.

NINNY!

What felt like moments later, I was under the care of Tooth. She had slathered a thick layer of something that had both sea weed and mint in it. My hands had been thoroughly rubbed with lotion before Tooth began work on my nails. It was weird.

"So are the parties like that each year?" I asked.

Tooth nodded. "This year it had more energy though, thanks to you!" She gave me a smile before continuing her work on filing my nails just so.

"It wasn't just because of me," I muttered. Tooth shook her head, but didn't argue with me. It could have gone on for hours.

"Everybody but Jack seemed to be having a good time." I felt a stone in my stomach. "And it's my fault."

Tooth put a hand on her hip. "Why would you say that?"

"Well, I've been pulling a lot of tricks on him. Is he a really sore loser? Because when I performed better than him, he was kind of off for the rest of the day."

Tooth bit her lip. I could tell she wanted to say something, but was holding back. She almost went into my nails too harshly, but I pulled my hand away as she became more aggressive. Then she went up about three inches.

"Sorry, sorry." She took a deep breath and I let her have at my hand again. "He's just a little prideful, that's all."

I nodded. It made sense.

Neither of us said anything for a few minutes. Aside from the trickle of Baby Teeth, there really was nothing to comment on. She began to paint my nails a cherry red.

I remembered what my mind was going off on a few days before when Jack was teaching me to ice skate. My mind had a tendency to rush and run when I was scared or nervous. Any emotion that was powerful enough would either make me cry, make my mind run laps, or both.

Just as she was putting on the final coat on my left hand, she asked the deadly question. "Do you think Jack is cute?"

I never knew that my heart could move that fast and that it could jump all the way up my throat. It felt like adrenaline was being infused with my average blood. Panic mode seemed to be natural at this point.

"Do I think Jack is cute?"

She nodded. I could tell that she regretted asking me that. It must have been taking so much will power to not be shooting up to the ceiling. That was the good thing about her: you could read what she was feeling, so you knew how to reply.

"Why are you asking?"

"Some of the Baby Teeth were wondering." She shook her head. "They just wanted me to ask you. It's a major invasion of privacy, so you don't have to answer."

She screwed the top of the polish bottle back on. A few of said Baby Teeth fluttered down and sped up the drying of my nails with their wings. The small breeze they made chilled my fingers.

It reminded me of when Jack was holding my hand, teaching me to ice skate. That was a good day. I tried not to notice a lot of things that day. I tried not to notice a lot of things all the time.

As she went to my hair, my head was thrumming with things, the only things keeping pace being Tooth's wings and my heart. Imagines flashed just behind my open eyes, and I knew if I closed them I would be taking a walk down memory lane. It would be a short lane, more like a stroll across the yard, but still.

* * *

Tooth had put blankets over all of the mirrors and had hidden every other reflective surface with something else. As long as it could even slightly reflect me, it was hidden.

"You are going to love this!" she squealed. There was a dress covered in a thick plastic from a dress. I felt like a doll for a small child.

Bunny had told me that they all once were people. Tooth was somebody before she was Tooth. I had no idea who or where she was back then. Or even when then was. Maybe I was now being a stand in for a child that she wanted to dress up.

She was also probably starved of female attention, too.

So now, here I was, changing into something I wasn't allowed to look out without being allowed to see what I looked like. Tooth had put a blind fold over me. Okay, maybe she had no idea how to do this. This was taking it too far.

But it was worth it.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Please understand that I am trying to play up a few different aspects of the guardians and Summer. Things that are not commonly thought of. The characters have layers. I hope you guys are liking this. Please review if you like it! It would be really nice of you!


	25. Holiday Lane

Now I knew what it felt like to be slack jawed. It sounds pretty straight forward. But the mental overload required to make it happen and the recovery is somewhat tricky to figure out.

My hair was in its rings, but was pinned up behind my head. The make up that was painstakingly applied to my face made my entire face look like a work of art. My skin looked a creamy white, which made my lips look like they were part of a candy cane. Their matte tone made them look perfect for me. The way Tooth had accented my eyes, they made my eyes look like swirls from one of Van Gogh's paintings.

For once, I felt pretty.

Tooth hovered behind me. She had the largest grin on her face. "What do you think?"

I turned, twisting to see the dress which I had somehow managed to get in. It was a rich, cherry red dress that was made of velvet. It left my shoulders bare, but gathered on my arms. It only went to my mid thigh, but the style of it made it look like there was yards and yards of it just sweeping down and draping into piles. On each leg, there was a slight part where it was gathered up. I had put on a pair of tights with a lace pattern.

"Who is this person who I stole the body of?" I twirled again. Not to toot my own horn, but I actually felt pretty. Dare I say it, I felt beautiful. "You really know how to disguise things with makeup!"

Tooth's smile faltered. "Summer, you are beautiful every day."

I looked away from the mirror. Something in me wanted to object. It was as impossible for me to believe in that as it was possible for my high school math teacher from believing in the guardians. It simply was not going to happen.

"I can't exactly be like Jack," I said. "I need shoes."

* * *

I walked down the street with Tooth hovering near by. She justified taking the whole day to spend with my saying "I can easily go collect teeth while we are in the city!". We had a few hours before the show started. Tooth had given me a golden purse that held my ticket and a few other things.

How she managed to get this, I had no idea. Everything I was wearing was really expensive looking. I doubted that the workshop had a clothes making wing. Jack probably stole them from somewhere. That had to be something I was going to ask him about later.

"So, what are we going to do until it is time for you to go in?" Tooth asked. "I can't exactly take you along with me for tooth collection.

Now I just felt awkward being so dressed up, as there was no clear reason for me to look so nice for a day on the street. I could be spending time at home, but here I was. It was strange.

Jack made a sudden show next to us. He landed and jabbed at my side, trying to get me to squeak or something. Now that we were in public, I couldn't acknowledge them either. Too many people around to judge me. What they didn't know was I actually had something planned, but I wasn't about to use it on just anything.

"Jack, don't you think Summer looks lovely?" Tooth gave a massive grin. I was unsure of her motives. Either she was trying to set us up or boost my confidence. Neither one was really going to be met with positive results.

"Beautiful," he said with a roll of his eyes. He looked around at all of the people, and pretty much everything but me.

I can understand being a bit angry at somebody for them having a bit of fun with you. Slight jokes and all that good stuff. But this was getting to be too much. Jack was being a straight up jack wad.

I looked around, trying to find something to do. Something for me to think about, even. And that it when I saw what looked like heaven on Earth.

Holiday Lane. A parade all for Christmas music. When I read the time listed, it read less than an hour away.

Jack and Tooth took note of what I was staring at and paused. They looked it over, Jack getting a grin.

"I thought you might like that event. I've seen it a few times. Sill good each time!"

"Guess we know what we will be doing for a while," Tooth said.

* * *

Jack and I were probably the most awkward people out there. Pretty much nobody could see Jack, so I looked like the most awkward person out there. Tooth had felt it safe to leave us to go do some gathering.

Jack had found me quite a lovely spot to view the whole thing: on top of the building. So, here I was, at the base of the building because I didn't want to draw attention to myself. In a dress like this you were the center of attention. If you were in a dress like this and on top of a building, you were the center of the eleven o'clock news.

Jack had found a lovely spot on a statue that was right around where the performers were going to be. I stood on the base, which boosted me above the heads of the other viewers.

Suddenly, it started. The music was faint at first, but it came on like a wave crashing down on everything.

I sang along to just about every song. Ten minutes into it, my throat was beginning to get a bit sore. Jack had taken up a spot on top of his staff, and was hardly paying me any attention.

"You know, the only thing that could make this better is snow," I said. It was just random enough to seem random, yet Jack would know what I was talking about.

"Oh, look who is deciding to play the crazy card!" Jack dropped down. "Go ahead, talk to me."

I could tell he was just being lazy. He figured it would be too much effort to go and make it snow. But if I wanted snow, then goddammit I was getting snow. Besides, there was probably some kid somewhere who would love it to snow as well. For the children.

I reached into the purse and took out a phone. I put it to my ear like I was receiving a call. "Hello? I think you should make it snow. Like, right now."

He nodded. "Not bad, not bad."

"Why thank you," I said into the phone.

"Nope."

"Yes."

"Nope."

"Yes."

"Nope," he drug it out with a small tune.

"Yes," I drug mine out much further and to the tune of the current carol.

"You really cannot sit here and remain defeated, can you?"

I sighed and looked at him. "I just want some snow. It will be magical."

"How about it would be strange for it to suddenly snow?" He leaned in. "I am telling you, I will not do this simply because you want me to."

I scowled. My eyes flitted over his face, which was now set with determination. I tried to not notice how great he looked. I failed that. Dang it, Tooth! Why did you have to plant the thought of him being cute into my head?

"Not doing it just because I want it isn't a reason not to."

I swallowed the fear that was in me. The fear I just might be attracted to the winter spirit. The fear that I might get rejected. being afraid of it was going to get me nowhere.

I looked him dead in the eyes. There was a sharp determination in my eyes. His also had this look. I probably looked like a madwoman for staring so intensely into space, but there was too much going on for anybody to notice.

"Please," I implored.

Jack twirled his staff. "One snowy street coming up."

* * *

**Author's Note: **Today is my last day of updates! Have fun with the little I am giving you today! It is what you will have to live on for awhile! In your review, put what you think is going to happen!


	26. Nutcracker

**Author's Note: **And now, the chapter you all have been waiting for! The chapter where Summer goes to see the Nutcracker!

* * *

Collecting teeth was as thrilling as ever. The adorable children snoozing in their beds. The satisfying feeling of leaving a present under their pillows. It was as good as I remembered it.

It was easy to locate Jack and Summer. They were sitting on a roof top. I was surprised about a few things. One, the fact that it was still snowing. Two, Summer had yet to head into the theater. As I got closer, I knew that something was up.

Summer looked up at me and gave a small smile. I could tell it was forced. "Hey."

Jack's jaw was set, and he looked rather upset about something. A million things could have gone wrong.

"What's going on?" I asked.

Summer looked at the ground. Jack seemed to bristle with his anger. At least I wouldn't have to worry about having to pry and force it out of them.

She could not make herself look at me. "Well... There was a woman whose daughter is in the show. But she messed up and had no ticket, and this was the only night she could see it due to a ton of stuff."

"So she gave her ticket to the woman because she needed it more," Jack finished. "Because its not like she wanted it herself."

"Shut it, Frosty!" Summer sent him a death glare. The normal, playful energy that she normally had when calling him that was absent.

"Oh, no problem, Sunshine!" He glared right back at her.

"Wait, wait!" I flew between them. "You did what?"

Summer looked at me before returning to ground gazing. Her foot made lines in the snow. "I gave my ticket to a woman who needed it more than me."

"You got that ticket as a gift from North himself," Jack practically shouted at her. "It was meant for you to use."

"And look who used it to make a woman very happy," she retorted.

I tried to understand why Jack was so infuriated. It was a bit foolish for her to give away her ticket, I do have to agree with that. But it was her ticket to do whatever she pleased with. I was trying to settle with my own emotions on this situation. What was I to feel about this?

"Summer has made her choice, Jack."

The both looked at me. Jack had a bit of a set in his jaw, which only happened when he was angry. The last time I saw it was when Summer dumped him in the river. Summer had the slightest of red around the edges of her eyes.

There had to be some sort of solution.

"Is there any way that we can still get you in there, Summer?"

She shook her head. "No, all of the tickets were sold out. That's why I gave the ticket to the lady."

Jack looked at the side of the buildings. "I think I saw a side entrance. Maybe we could find a place to see the play, but it would probably have to be on the set or above it."

Summer got a small smile. "Then I will call it a one of a kind viewing."

* * *

Summer ended up getting her wish after all. Looking back, it was probably the best way things could have gone. She gave a woman something that could not be repaid. For her, that might have been a first. Then she ended up getting a one of a kind viewing experience.

She took up a spot right by the curtain, thirty feet in the air. Although it might initially be uncomfortable, she got over it. The back stage action was easily viewable, but she paid hardly any mind to it. When it came time for intermission, she clearly was getting antsy. What if somebody noticed her?

The entire show, I had pretty much been floating around and roaming around back stage. It was something to do. At times, I would check on her and she would be as fine as ever.

I knocked over several things during intermission. Whenever somebody looked like they were about to discover Summer, something went down.

The light was dim, so I had trouble making her out at times. I didn't really need to see her, I just really wanted to. Tooth had hardly done anything to change how she looked, and she looked stunning. How somebody who looked so mature could believe in us was far beyond me.

The second the show was over, Summer waved a hand to get me to come over. She was put in the position of a mute until we could get safely away and out of sight. I could talk though. My chit chat probably bothered her, but it was all in good fun.

* * *

Flying her out to the forest wasn't that much of a chore. Tooth said she would meet us there so we could use her portals that were otherwise hidden. She said that, or Bunny might be coming.

I was hoping that Bunny was not going to show up. After such a grand night, I did not want to deal with the Easter Kangaroo. Anything but that.

Summer and I walked around, mostly in circles or in wandering loops. She was doing it to keep her blood flowing and her body warm. Her hands rubbed up and down her arms and puffs of her breath made clouds in front of her lips.

"So did you enjoy the ballet?" I inquired. I walked by her side but didn't dare touch her. She was trying to stay warm after all.

"Yes, it was great. Thank you. Thank you so much, Jack."

I shrugged. "Eh, it was no big deal."

She nudged me with her arm. "It was a big deal to me."

I nudged her back. "Well for me it wasn't."

She nudged me again, harder this time. "But it was for me. And thank you for making it snow."

I returned her nudge. "You made me make it snow."

She nudged me again. "I just asked you to and you did it."

I gave her a harder nudge. Why were we even doing this? It felt like everything we did had to be some sort of a one up man ship. "You can be very persuasive."

She gave me a final nudge. "You are a push over."

"Am not." I nudged her again, but too hard this time.

Her feet slipped against the snow as she toppled over. She landed square on her butt into a bush. Snow went everywhere, the lose powdery flakes flying up and coating her. Some of it clung to her clothing, which made it rapidly melt into the soft layers of fabric. Some of it landed in her hair and stuck there, spotting the dark curls with flecks of white. A few even landed in her eye lashes.

"Oh, I am so sorry!" I had a small heart attack before I tried to help her up.

She looked stunned at first before she began to laugh. Even her laugh had a touch of music to it. Her laughter was short, and she quickly regained her composure, but she still was a bit giggly and light.

"It's fine. At least I landed in something soft!" she said.

"You have snow in your hair," I pointed out.

"Then help me get it out."

She brushed at her eyes to get rid of the snow flakes that were caught in the lashes. I brushed at her hair with one of my hands rather awkwardly. This was a little closer than I wanted to be with her. A little closer than I ever really intended to get.

"Do you see any more?" she asked once she finished brushing at her eyes.

My hand was still on the back of her head, brushing away the snow. But it had stopped once there were no more, not moving from its spot.

She looked at me with inquisitive eyes. The way the light was in the forest, her face was framed with darkness. Yet, her eyes were still as bright as ever. What happened next was some what of an automatic reaction. Something I would never have done if I was being rational.

I kissed her.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Thoughts? Put what you thought of this chapter in the review! I am going to be gone for a week, after all. So enjoy stewing in your emotions while I sit back and relax!


	27. My Last

**Author's Note: **Please don't tell me you thought my last chapter was the final chapter before I left. I can't leave you guys with something like that! Any way, I hope you like it. **REVIEW PLEASE! **I may not be able to post new chapters, but I will be able to see the reviews! Tell me your thoughts! I hope you enjoyed reading!

* * *

My heart stopped and froze in place. Everything went perfectly silent as I got the feeling that everything was right. Nothing had ever been so perfect. I felt like I had just discovered gravity. Everything suddenly made sense. Why had I not thought of this before?

I was kissing Jack Frost.

The explosion of emotions and thoughts that I had thought were going to attack me were not there. I was acting on pure instinct.

Jack suddenly pulled back and took a step away. I could tell he was flustered. The normal cocky strut he possessed seemed a stark contrast to his shuffle now.

"I'm, uh, sorry." He put a hand on his forehead. "I don't know why I did that."

I took a step forward and laced my arms behind his neck. There was a split second of surprise on his face before our lips were in contact yet again.

I wanted to thank Tooth. She was somehow responsible for more of this than she intended to be. The question she asked earlier had a clear, bright answer. Yes.

* * *

A sudden crashing brought us back down to Earth. I stumbled away from Jack as something seemed to push me. The shadows that were everywhere seemed to be exploding and taking form.

Jack was bewildered for a second before he went into battle mode. It looked almost exactly like he was angry, only he pulsed with power and his staff was in attacking position.

Tooth shot from out of nowhere. "Jack!" A swarm of her Baby Teeth fluttered around her, forming a cloud of emerald.

He swiveled to face her and was rammed in the side by a shadow. It quickly took the form of a horse with menacing yellow eyes. It let off trails of black smoke, that actually ended up being sand. More of the shadows took this form, stamping their feet in fury.

Jack looked around. "We can't take them all!"

Now is when I was dead weight. I hated it. Just absolutely hated it. All I was good for was a distraction in case they needed it. Hands down, they didn't.

Tooth shot up into the air. "Summer! The portal to the Tooth Palace is in a cave nearby!" She threw me a sword. It was a heavy blade that reminded me of something a pirate might have. "Run!"

I hefted it up and began to run. Some of the Baby Teeth followed me to ensure that I was going to get to safety, even leading me to where I needed to go. Quickly, I ditched the shoes in the snow. They weren't mine any way. I could deal with a bit of cold for a while. There wasn't even enough snow for it to become a problem, too.

A cave suddenly came into sight. It was more of a large crevice between two fallen rocks, but it was classifiable as a cave. All of the Baby Teeth around me began to squeak and squeal. That was how I was going to get to the Tooth Palace. Although the opening was small, I still managed to slip in. A light pulsed at the end of the tunnel, so I began to run for it. All of the Baby Teeth left me, presumably to go fight whatever was out there.

Darkness suddenly over took everything. It was as if the shadows had been waiting to come and envelop everything. The pleasant warm air was suddenly stopped and cold air over took it. But it wasn't Jack's kind of cold.

I stopped. This was wrong. This was really wrong.

"Don't be afraid," cooed a man's voice. "Be terrified."

* * *

The battle raged. I knew that we stood no chance of beating them all. We needed to get away from it. Tooth and I stood no chance, no matter the number of Baby Teeth she brought along. I was mostly glad that we had gotten Summer out of the way so quickly.

I used the wind to shoot me to the cave. A few of the Baby Teeth gave me a bit of a trail, but it was easy enough to find. I found the opening between two rocks. It was a bit tight, but that would be no problem.

I landed in the opening and gazed in. There was nothing. Summer had made it through. She was safe.

I took one last look around the cavern. Something felt off. But there was a battle raging and I had to leave. With one last look, I flew away and continued the battle.

* * *

The man was quick to show himself. He was a tall and slender man with pitch black hair and dark, ashy skin. His features were sharp and clear. It would probably end up hurting you more than him if you tried to punch his face.

"Hello, Summer." He smiled. I felt like I was going to be sick.

"Oh, so you know me." I held on to the sword.

He chuckled. "That is the best part about you. How you react when you are afraid. You can be snarky or your mind will just go to about anything. But then, once it is all over, you cry like a little baby."

I gripped the hilt of the sort harder now. Whoever this guy was, he was bad news. There was a little bit of fear, I do admit.

"What makes you think I am afraid?" I snapped.

"I am the Bogey Man, I know fear when it exists. You can call me Pitch, though." He gave a cheshire grin. "Then it will just be you and the guardians that know what I go by."

I swallowed. I really wish I had run faster. "You know the guardians?"

"Know them? Yes. Like them? No." He folded his hands behind his back. I imagined that if his hair was longer and his skin paler, he would look exactly like Severus Snape. "Especially that wretched Jack Frost."

I blinked. Jack. "Why do you hate him?"

"Because if he had joined me, we could be ruling the world right now!" He turned around to stew in his anger. "I swore to myself I would get him for that. I swore that he would pay."

"Has he paid?"

Pitch looked over his shoulder and grinned. "He is about to."

I took a step back, still holding the sword. I hefted it up, ready to slice into something. Anything. It shook, partly because of its weight and partly because of my fear.

Pitch took a step towards me. "Don't take this personally. But Jack Frost finally has something to lose. So, I am going to take it from him."

In a sudden burst of energy, I swung the sword and it cut through where he just was. But he was behind me at that exact moment. And his blade went straight through my stomach.

I collapsed on my side. I could feel death. It was coming on quickly.

"Moon light, breathing." Pitch sauntered away. "Enjoy your last, Summer."

* * *

It wasn't supposed to be like this. It never was supposed to be like this. I was never going to die like this.

My death was going to be a good one. I was going to die in an old house by the sea. The waves would be coming in and out, lulling me to my final rest. And I was going to be old. My face was going to be rumpled and worn from too many days in the sun and hours and hours of laughter. My death was going to be like a sigh from the world. A final good bye without a bang.

But here I was. There were no waves. Air refused to come. My face was still ripe and young. A thin trail of blood slipped past my lips and trickled down the side of my mouth to the ground.

It never was supposed to be like this.

And I was alone. Oh god I was alone.

Nobody was there. Not even my friends. Not even my new friends. Not even an acquaintance. Not even a stranger. Nobody was there.

The second I had something to lose. The second I actually felt like life was worth while. The second I felt like I mattered. The second I felt like I would actually have an impact. The second I felt pretty. The second I felt really happy in years. The second I had gotten over a fear. The second it all happened I was dead. I was dying. I was dead.

A figure appeared in the entrance. Jack. Jack stood in the opening and looked in. He looked around the cave. But then he started to leave.

No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No.

I lifted one of my arms. It was probably going to be my dying act, but I didn't care. I didn't want to die alone. I couldn't die alone.

But then he left and flew away and I was felt alone and I dropped my arm and I knew I was seconds away from death and I looked at the sky and I saw the moon. I saw a sliver of the moon.

Then I finally died.


	28. With Jamie

**Author's Note: **Who missed me? I have made my return, the same with our lovely story! I really hope you like this continuation.

* * *

It was nice to walk down the street with an old friend. It was nice to have an old friend, really. At first, it had become really hard for me to deal with other people on a regular basis. After hundreds of years of being invisible, that tends to happen.

Jamie had aged quite well. He was just short of thirty now, much older than I would ever look like. I tried not to get upset when the thought of him not being around forever came up. He was the first kid to ever see me!

We walked down the street as the sun was setting. The snow sparkled under the sun. Jamie and I walked on the side walk, which had been shoveled off and salted. Snowmen seemed to pop up at random and the snow was littered with snow angels. Times didn't change.

"I think it's just amazing that somebody at your age is a believer," I told Jamie.

"After that adventure I had when I was a kid, how could I!" He grinned. "Who is the oldest believer?"

I rolled my eyes. "Easy. You."

"Who is the oldest person aside from me who has ever believed?"

I stopped. The memory hit me like a brick wall. Something I had long suppressed or tired to forget. "A girl named Sumer James."

Summer. Nobody knew why she was so important. I just knew that she had left more than a little impact. Not just on me, but on all of the guardians. Tooth and Bunny acted like they had lost a friend. North and Sandy felt like they had lost out on some great adventure because they were too slow.

I had no idea what I was feeling. I felt like I was getting punched in the face, in the gut and smacked with something impossibly painful. I felt like something had taken hold of my innards and was trying to drag them out through my chest. It was all of that and so much more.

What that equated to in what I had missed out on or lost, I was clueless.

Jamie paused in his steps. He had his hands crammed into his pockets. I think he sensed how upset I had suddenly become. Really, there was no excuse for me to be acting this emotional.

"So where is she now?"

I swallowed. "None of us have any idea."

"What happened to her?"

"Same as my last answer."

I gripped my staff and planted it firmly in the ground. Things were beginning to get a bit wobbly. "The worst part about whatever happened is not knowing what happened. All we know is that Pitch attacked but she made it to safety and nobody saw or heard from her ever again."

Jamie took his hands out of his pockets and held his arms out for a hug. I gladly took it. Although being in a warm embrace felt awkward to me, the meaning of it certainly was not lost. I wasn't about to cry or anything. I was going to continue to be brave about this. It had been twenty whole years. I shouldn't be torn up about this one.

"Maybe she is out there somewhere. Just, not aware that you guys are even looking for her," he commented after a moment.

I took a step back and rubbed at my forehead. "Yeah. I think that she somehow just abandoned us and never looked back. We did kind of freak her out."

"Maybe what you need to do is try and find people around her," Jamie offered. "Maybe she has a daughter. Maybe she is somewhere warm."

I cracked a grin. This was all stuff we had thought of before, but it was nice to know we weren't fully insane on our theories. Jamie had come up with them, too.

"I'll go check again."

Jamie gave a small chuckle. We stood around awkwardly for a minute or two before he broke the silence that had formed. "I hate to leave you like this, but I have to return to my family."

I nodded. "Don't get shipped off to a mental institution. I'll be back for you!"

* * *

Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. A city most certainly not forgotten by the world. It thrummed with tourists at times, but the flow was slowing to a stop. The sun had set and the night life began.

I never was much of a person to enjoy warm places. This place was good, though. There weren't a ton of people to be busy not seeing me or walking through me. It was exotic enough for me to see some new things. The ocean had quite a push and a pull with, at times, crashing waves.

I entered into my favorite summery sport: wave riding.

Why don't I just call it surfing? It's not surfing, that's why. It is also not something anybody but I can do. As the waves come in, I freeze them. Imagine ice skating on a surface that is trying to change. Tricky, but fun!

I shot down to the water and skimmed the surface, watching the ice get torn apart easily with the waves. It made me feel relaxed and pensive. Something for me to be doing as my mind worked away at things.

Summer. Whatever had happened to her had happened. There was no changing that. There was no changing that. There was absolutely no changing that. Whatever happened was not my fault. It wasn't, it wasn't, it wasn't. There had to be some hope for her.

I looked up at the moon. It seemed impossibly big in the black, sparkling sky. It cast light onto the ocean, the reflection getting distorted with each wave that bounced through.

He, the Man on the Moon, might know. But when did he come forward and tell you things? Never. He never did. If she had died, she could have been made into a spirit or a guardian. But she wasn't. If she was, she hadn't been found.

"Man on the Moon, help me with this," I muttered. "Just give me a sign, anything."

"Dude, look at the moon!" a drunk guy slurred. He was clearly American and clearly about fifteen sheets to the wind. From the water, I could smell the harsh tequila off of him. "So pretty tonight."

"I know man," another guy shouted. "So beautiful!"

I shot off the ocean and stood next to them. They staggered off somewhere after another round of tears, but they were alright. I figured I should probably follow them, although they were far from being children.

It was better than moping around all night.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Please don't forget to review! The updates will certainly be slower now, because I have school and things to be doing. Please understand and be patient! I am doing the best I can with this story.


	29. Awaiting

**Author's Note: **HAPPY ONE MONTH ANNIVERSARY OF THIS STORY, YOU GUYS! Therefore, Summer is now officially one month old! I made her up on the go without any real plan to what was going to happen to the story. I didn't even think it would get this far. But, 70 followers and 63 favorites later, here we are! Thank you, thank you so much!

* * *

In my mind, there is nothing more beautiful than winter. How silent it is. The peace it brings. Not to mention the seemingly endless string of holidays that initially call for peace and love among everybody.

But, recently, I have been getting a bit overwhelmed with everything. The lack of anything, really. Having absolutely nothing, nobody, nowhere to be, nowhere to really go. Nothing really mattered.

The sheer fact of that was overwhelming.

I had to get away from the winter festivals up north. I had to get somewhere fun, somewhere I had never been. I wanted to go on an adventure. I wanted to do something. I wanted to see somebody and have somebody see me.

I wanted to matter.

So, here I was, getting ignored yet again. I had to be the most impossible thing in the world. A ghost. It sucked more than anything I could ever describe to anybody. Nobody could see or hear me. Whenever I tried to touch anybody, I would pass straight through them.

But I existed. At least, I thought I did. When there is no confirmation that you even exist aside from your own consciousness, you begin to wonder if you really are conscious. You begin to wonder what you are.

Over the years I came up with a few theories. None of them were really good, but they were all I had. They were the only thing that seemed to last.

One, I was an echo. I woke up just as the year turned. That was a long time ago. But imagine the first thing you see is silence, then suddenly the sky is about a million different colors with sounds of explosions filling the air. I could have just been an echo of all of that. An echo of all of the excitement and joy of that singular moment.

Two, I was an imaginary friend. Whatever kid had dreamt me up had a powerful mind, but ended up leaving me behind. I was just strong enough to somehow exist without existing.

Three, I was a ghost. I had no memory of anything before my awakening, so this was most unlikely.

Four, I was a song. A deaf soul's interpretation of all that they were missing.

Five, I was an emotion. Seeing as I felt many things over time, this was most likely not the truth. This falls under the previous one in being the interpretation of something you are fully aware exists but you can never, ever know what it is.

I was a ton of things. At times, I fancied myself a philosopher. Maybe I was a philosophy. That could be number six on my list!

Six, I was a philosophy. Something deep yet unreachable. Something that was calling out but would never, ever be heard. Something that could never be understood.

It was pitiful that after twenty years of existing, I could only come up with six possible explanations for who or what I was.

I had spent twenty years doing nothing. During the day, I would try and talk to people. I would run through them, scream at them, sing a song or two. I would stand next to some. There are a few people who I followed diligently, acting as if I was one of their best friends at times. When they got down, I would talk to them. They never heard me, though.

Sometimes, I got so lonely, I would find an empty shopping mall or someplace like that. Somewhere with mirrors or where I could catch my reflection. I would look at myself and talk.

"Oh hello there!" I recall saying one time. "My name is... Well, I don't really know what my name is. What is your name? Oh, I don't know what my name is either. But that's okay. It's so nice to meet somebody."

Before I could even get to that point, I would cry. My voice would tremble and break. "It's so nice to meet anybody. It must be so very, very nice."

I would never do this during the day. I would never shed a tear, even. I would always bottle it up until the world fell asleep and the moon took up the sky. Crying felt so much more lonely during the day, because there was everybody there not to see it.

This stuff was pretty deep. Maybe I was a really good philosophy.

Any way, after about twenty years of feeling nothing, doing nothing, feeling like less and aging not a single day, here I was in some city on the Mexican shore. I think it was something along the lines of Puerto Villarta or something like that. There was really no reason for me to be out there. No reason for me to not be there, either.

I heard some drunk guys making a really, really big ruckus. They were quite the show, admittedly. Watching them was great fun. I took up a spot at the bottom of a palm tree and watched. I kept my distance, though. They were unpredictable, I feared that drunks could see me, and it felt awful when somebody passed through you. Kind of like a current going straight through you. There was some sort of indescribable sensation.

Suddenly, a young man flew up to them. He flew. Flew! Then, one of their arms just passed right through him!

He was like me. Never before had I seen somebody like me. He was like me! Maybe he knew what we were. Maybe he was lonely. Maybe, maybe, maybe.

When they roamed off, he followed after them. I followed after, making sure I kept hidden. My excitement was monumental.

Maybe I wasn't so alone.

* * *

**Author's Note: **I hope you all liked it! Dang you all for predicting that she would become a spirit or something of that sort. For that, they suffer. They will suffer greatly.


	30. Drunks

**Author's Note: **Hey there, you guys! Sorry about the short chapter! I just want you to know something... I have no muse for this story at the moment. Later chapters will come, and I will post one at least once a week, but please understand that I have other things on my mind.

Also, I was given a request to add the character's name to when I switch perspectives. Although I would like to do that to clear things up, it would be rather difficult at this point in time. We do not know our little girlie's name, after all! I try to make it clear in the first sentence who I am going to be talking for, so please think about it if you think I am switching perspectives.

* * *

I followed after the two drunken gentlemen, abandoning all thoughts of freezing the ocean over. It was much more fun to make these guys stumble and slip a bit. Nothing major, just making things humorously silly.

It took about five minutes for them to be stumbling over confessions of love for each other. Really, I never understood the appeal of becoming a total, slurring moron.

They lead the way to a hotel on a beach. At one point, one of them began to laugh hysterically at some apparent deep thought made by the other one. The entire time, I casually strolled along side them as if I belonged there.

"Dude, dude." One of them drunkenly looped his arm around the other one. "What would you do if there was suddenly ice everywhere?"

"I would..." The other one paused, as if carefully thinking this one over. "I would probably just lay down in the ice, you know?"

I rolled my eyes. Morons.

A sober guy strolled out of the building they were slowly and not so surely making their way into. He looked a lot like both of them, only not smashed out of his mind.

"I knew you guys would be coming back eventually." He scowled, clearly upset with the two of them. "What is with you guys?"

"We were just talking about what we would do if we suddenly had a ton of ice everywhere." He grinned in a way only a small child or a drunk man could. "Like, snow ice and not, like, soda ice."

The sober one pinched the bridge of his nose. "You guys are drunk out of your minds. Come on."

"What would you do if that happened?"

"I don't think Jack Frost travels down this far."

Both of the drunk men seemed rather upset by this. Little did they know. One of them looked somberly to the ground and began to sob quietly. To say they had a few shots of tequila would probably be an understatement. I laughed.

The one who initially asked the question suddenly looked straight at me. His eyes were clouded, but there was a small pinprick of clarity in there. "Who are you?"

Both the other drunk and the sober guy looked over in my direction. Only the drunks seemed able to see me.

"I'm Jack Frost," I replied.

This revaluation seemed too much for them. They began to squeal and point at me. Sober-dude was unconvinced with their act, as I was invisible to him.

"Come on you guys," he said. "We should get you guys to bed." He put his hands on their arms and began to push them to the doors.

One of the drunks reached out and clutched my arm. His words and his actions were unintelligible from them on, but he held on to my arm for a few seconds. I was drug along as they marched forward before I finally twisted my arm free of his grasp.

And that was my encounter with the drunk men.

* * *

As I trailed after the three males, my mind was on joy overload. Either that, or I had finally gone insane enough to finally see odd things. Then again, that would probably cancel out a ton of my theories as to who or what I was. This was all a very delicate thing.

I followed after them, now at the hotel. The shadows were my friend, as always. For once, I actually wanted to be with them. Now it was a choice to linger in the darkness and look in on the life.

They slurred and spoke. I had no idea what they were doing. Drunk people, I suppose, were like that. My social skills were lacking. And dealing with a drunk person seemed confusing enough even for somebody with social skills. Note to self: never deal with anybody who has consumed a bunch of alcohol.

Then they did it.

They saw him.

They talked to him.

They touched him.

My mind went into overload. I simply could not any more. I could not help myself. Everything in my overloaded with curiosity and excitement. Joy and a tidal wave of other emotions washed over me in that one, singular instant.

Then it dawned on me.

I had no idea if he could see me. I had no idea what he was. I had no idea if I was what he was. I heard his name, Jack Frost. But, what was Jack Frost? Who was he? The sober man seemed to name him.

He was just like all of the rest of them. I didn't know how I knew, I just did.

There was a glimmer of a chance though. A sparkle of a doubt that I was wrong. And my chance was rapidly approaching for me to find out. A chance to have a dazzling bit of joy in my life.

The drunks and the sober man left. I watched Jack watch after them as they receded into the bright light of the hotel. He did not move. I did not move. After a few tense, silent moments, he turned and looked around.

I curled behind the pillar which I had taken up as a hiding point.

After a few tense, silent moments, I saw him fly away.

In the end, I suppose I am a coward. I would rather sit with my bit of hope rather than risk it all.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Please review! Review with any theories you might have for this story! It might get my muse up, resulting in chapters. Let's see, though


	31. Song in the Silence

**Author's Note: **Hey you guys! I hope you guys like what I am doing here, although it is my story and I will do whatever I dang well please. But I would like to hear from you guys, so remember that!

I am also thinking about adding a bit of personalized art to the cover for the story. I might make one, but if you think you would like to take up the task, let me know!

* * *

It was a few days after the initial drunk incident that I was still thinking about the odd boy with the white hair. Then again, I suppose there really was not much else for me to think about. Aside from the fact that nobody knew me and other massively depressing thoughts, there really was nothing else for me to think about.

I didn't get close enough to really get a good look at that boy. My legs had locked up whenever I dared to think about it.

He had snowy white hair. A crocked smirk that was somehow something I felt like was missing for a long time. There was an overwhelming desire of some sort for me to just hug him. What was this coming from?

At first, the drunk's had been unable to touch him. They just passed through him. Later, they were able to touch him. How did that work? In fact, how did touching work in general?

"I mean, seriously! What do you think, Ariel?" I asked.

No reply came to me. I was used to that by now, but I decided to continue what I knew to be a silly game. I turned to face the window which was reflecting me back at myself.

"I think you are just being silly."

"I am not being silly! I am being serious! There is somebody strange out there named Jack Frost!"

"Jack Frost." Ariel/I put her/my hand on her/my hip and pouted. "I think I've heard that name, but I have no idea where."

I gazed into my reflection. This was really ridiculous. Part of me never wanted to buy into the insanity, so I always felt like a moron doing this. Maybe if somebody was there to catch me if I did, I would be too scared to try. Then again, having nobody to catch me is really what founded this insanity.

My reflection was just me. A too square jaw, too many dark corkscrews of hair, too lack luster eyes. Was it a favor that nobody could see me?

It began to snow. The silent white petals stuck to my hair, a few of them catching in my eye lashes. Some of them tickled at my skin as they began a rapid melting from the second they touched me. I closed my eyes and breathed, imagining for a second I was a dragon.

Would anybody see the steam? Doubtfully.

I began to walk slowly to nowhere. My depression was still persistent, although the sight of snow was somewhat soothing. I watched as the streets gained a layer of it, and the black asphalt soon became invisible.

I wanted to try something. Just one thing, one time.

I began to sing.

Now, it was not as if I had never sung before. It was about the best way to fill a stifling silence. Whenever I was in my darkest hour, I would sing something until I was all better. But I had always done it in solitude. I never did it where there might be anybody to hear it.

But this time, I was singing among people. Sure, they were asleep and there was pretty much no chance of them hearing me any way, but I liked the idea of it. Maybe my songs would be what made them sleep that much more peacefully. Maybe my songs would enhance their dreams.

There was a sudden gust of wind. Not the normal, wintery breeze that shifted your hair. The kind of gust that sent all of your hair back and crammed air back down into your throat. I opened my eyes after the stinging flakes stopped.

Before me was the white haired boy with the most stunned expression I had ever seen on anybody.

* * *

The incident with the drunks had met me with no results at all. Even when I floated around the entire city for a few more hours afterwards, freezing a thing or two, I still got nothing significant out of it. The Man on the Moon was playing tricks.

In honesty, I would be lying if I said that was the first time I had thought about Summer in awhile. She was kind of like your nose. Always there in your sight, but it only bothered you when brought to your attention. Comparing her to a nose was offensive to her life, but it really is the only way to properly explain what she was. Or I could have compared her to clothes, and you only felt yourself wearing them when you remembered.

I had mastered the Summer emotion rant, where the mind offshoots into pretty much anything whenever nerves, fear, or some other kind of emotion came forward.

Any way, I was now making it snow in some town nearby a major city. It was no big thing, really. Just my normal snow cloud. Maybe I could cause a snow day! The joy on the faces of the kids would be great.

Alright. Snow day it was, then.

It wasn't a ton of work, really. I just had to make a few really big clouds and let them go. Aside from an occasional burst of magic, they would be fine of their own.

I flew down and began to frost over windows. Sandy had already passed by this region, small clouds of dreamsand over each kid being evidence of it. Every once in a while, I would glance into the windows and try to see what the kid was dreaming about.

All was silent and relatively still.

Then it began.

A song.

And it was her voice.

How I knew it was her voice was the way it sounded. The way it kind of filled the air in a sweet way. The slight infliction, the side, the shape, the density of her song. The way the notes seemed to grasp at you amid a world of white.

I had to be dreaming. I just had to be. There was no way she was suddenly here again. There was no way she was just singing in the silence like she used to be.

I used every ounce of wind I could muster. I flew around until I saw her.

A lone girl, walking slowly and singing.

I flew down to her and nearly crashed from how fast I was going. I stood straight at her and my heart exploded within me.

It was her.

It was Summer.

Summer!

Then she said the words that killed me more than anything.

"Can you see me?"

* * *

**Author's Note: **Please review! Pretty please!


	32. The Winter Chat

**Author's Note: HAPPY 100 REVIEWS!**For me, this is a big deal, for you, it is all due to you guys. Collectively. Reviews make me very, very happy. So, why not celebrate having 100! Really you guys, thank you so much! This could not have been done without your support! I started this whole thing off without the slightest idea what I was going to do. Now, I have a slight direction. So, please enjoy.

* * *

The boy was slack jawed in what must have been awe. Now that he was closer, I could really get a look at him. And he really was something. Tall, thin, overall handsome. His eyes were a sparkling blue like the winter sky.

"Can you see me?" I had asked. Why I suddenly felt compelled to say that, I had no idea. Of course he could see me, he was looking at me. Dead at me. Only after I had said it did I realize that I probably sounded insane.

"Because it is really dark. I don't want to scare you, or anything."

Hopefully that would reduce the level of insanity. I took a step forward into a better lighted spot. The street lamp glowed down on me and made the snow under me dazzle.

He began to try to say something, his whole being a mess of surprise. "You're..."

"A random wanderer in the night," I stated bluntly. "I got to roaming around in the snow."

I could not mess this up. No matter how much I felt the desire to do something out of my normal want, I could not mess this up. Jumping up and down like a puppy, no matter how much I wanted to, was not going to happen. That might scare the poor guy off.

"But... You." He made a gesture to my person in general. "What is your name?"

I glanced around. What was my name? There was a faint memory of it, like a whisper in a rainstorm. What was it? It started with an 's', I knew that.

"Why do you need to know?" I asked defensively. "Do you randomly go up to people and ask them their name?"

He shook his head. "No, no, sorry. I just wasn't expecting to see anybody out here at night." I could tell that he still was jumbled up inside. His eyes were just glued to me, so much so that blinking seemed like a risky thing to do.

We both stood there awkwardly for a few moments. I needed to somehow do something. This was my chance. My one and only chance in twenty years. Somehow, I had to do something. There were so many things I wanted to do, I could not even figure out a single one of them from the jumbled mess.

"I'm Jack Frost," he said, breaking the silence. There was a hopeful glint in his blue eyes.

I paused. "Jack Frost." The name was still pretty familiar. When I tried to remember it, I remembered an old book with a spine that cracked when you opened it.

"Like the myth?"

The glint in his eye was slowly simmering away. "Yeah, like the myth."

I nodded. My guess had been correct! "Well it is a pleasure to meet you, Jack." I held out my hand for him to give it a shake. "My name is Ariel."

And the light was gone. I had squashed it under my boot. "Pleasure," he said as he took my hand and gave it a shake. The kid had hypothermia! Or maybe all people were that temperature.

"You're cold," I mentioned once I had my hand back.

"Really? Huh, I haven't noticed."

Silence fell again. I looked him over at my now closer range while his eyes glassed over slightly. The hoodie he was wearing had an ice pattern on it that glittered like freshly fallen slow. His hair was delightfully shaggy.

When I looked over his face, I felt something in my mind again. It was that odd soreness that came whenever I thought about certain things. Much like a name, this one was a whisper.

His mind came back down from the cloud it was on and his eyes came back into focus. I'm unsure if anybody has ever come back to it while you are looking at them, but it can be a startling thing. His especially so. There was some sort of grim sadness in his demeanor that made me both shudder and want to hold him at the same time.

"So, why are you out here so late?" he asked.

"Woah, there. Stranger danger." I gave a small grin. "I just like the snow."

He nodded. "Same. What do your parents think about it? I mean, school might be canceled tomorrow."

A rolling burn of nerves struck me. Parents. I was going to have to lie about those, too. Maybe I could skirt around the topic. I rolled by eyes. "Tomorrow is Saturday."

He knit his eye brows together. "Really?"

"Yes, really."

He puffed out his cheeks. "Nevermind, then."

I giggled. He glanced back at me with a look of sorrow. "Sorry."

He looked really somber. Brilliant, the one time I managed to talk to somebody, I depressed them. There was something about it, too, that made me feel like I had to get it away. The sorrow, not the boy. Maybe it would be best for me to go away.

"Look, I should be heading home now," I said quickly.

He nodded. "Yeah, I understand." Even though he might not have known it, there was another glint in his eye. Some last daring glow, I could tell.

I gave a small smile. "I'll see you around then, Jack."

I wandered down the street a bit longer, acting like I had a purpose and a location. Jack might have been following me, I don't know. I just really needed to be alone to process what I was feeling.

I went into an apartment building and got halfway up the first flight before I simply sat down. My arms propped up on my knees, hands catching my head as I stared intently at the floor. Wild curls from my hair bounced in my vision, but I was too occupied with my thoughts to really even notice them.

Was he surprised to see me because he was in my situation? That did not explain his initial shock before I even acknowledged him.

What was it? Why did I feel the need to just hug him? His hand was cold, so there was no telling what his body heat was overall. The glint in his eye seemed familiar. I just wanted to do so many things, most of which involved just crying because of many reasons.

My name. What was my name? After the fireworks, I heard my name. But that wasn't it. It wasn't, I just knew it.

One thing was clear, though. The singing helped me feel better.

* * *

That was her. It had to be. Too similar to be a coincidence!

A thought occurred to me. Some kids look a lot like their parents. Like, exactly like them. Maybe Ariel was Summer's daughter! Somehow, it was her. Somehow, it wasn't.

I had to find out.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Please pretty pretty please remember to review! It only takes a few moments and it makes for a very happy author! Tell me what you think of the story?

What do you think is going to happen next? What will Jack do now that he met "Ariel"? Do you think she has any powers? Tell me in a review!


	33. Somewhat Lonely Revalations

**Author's Note: **Hey you guys! Thank you so much for continuing to read this outrageously long work. I mean, I have a ton I have to get done with this story before I can even think about ending the story. I have plot stuff to do, people! Hopefully you don't mind. I'm already thinking far ahead.

* * *

I spent the whole night wondering what I was going to do. Nothing seemed ideal. I had really dug myself into a hole. One route would probably get me deeper into trouble. The other would skirt around the problem for awhile, but risked making the problem worse when I came to face it.

I sat on the stairs for awhile. Rather than spend my whole night stationary, I got up and wandered around the

Jack. I doubted I would see him for awhile. I had time to think. Time to plot and scheme. So, I did that. I avoided him as long as I could, which was only about two days.

* * *

The sun had set hours before, but it was hardly even nine in the evening. Ice coated the roads and the windows, a thick layer of frost coating railings. There were no clouds to mark up the sky, but the stars did a grand enough job of it. The moon sat low in the sky, boasting a bright glow that illuminated things in a mystic way.

I stood over my newest discovery. A young girl, only about nine years old or so. She was cute as a button, but homeless. At least, I thought she was.

She sat in a cardboard box, huddled into a ball. Makeshift blankets were wrapped around her, but the faint blueness in her lips showed how cold she must have been. A golden halo of sand drifted around her head, much like I had seen it do many times before.

I had no idea what to do.

I reached out a hand and touched her hair. The soft silky texture caught me by surprise. That was something I would have to think about... How I could touch this girl.

The soft sand played at my fingers, and I toyed with it after my initial shock passed. It felt warm, in the soothing way that made you feel cozy. Small trails of it curled and formed a few shapes here and there. I had seen this enough times to know that this is what she was dreaming about.

The form suddenly changed and shifted to something new but familiar. A music note with an intricate pattern in the flag and the main body of it. It sparkled before it glittered into a new form.

Me.

At least, it looked like me. It was a girl singing, a tall and narrow shape with a trail of notes circling around her. The features on the girl looked similar to me, so I just assumed that it was me.

I touched the girls head and my eyes searched her face in wonder. Her lips still quivered in the chilling cold. The layers of her blankets had the sparkle of frost on it, which was probably harmful to her health.

I pressed my hand into her cheek. It was freezing cold. Kind of like Jack;s skin. Worry bloomed within me. For both Jack and the girl.

I moved my hand to her shoulder and began to shake her a bit. It took a moment to wake her up, but she woke up slowly and painfully. A slight groan escaped from her lips.

"Hey, hey." I bit my lower lip and continued to shake her a bit. "Hey, we should get you inside"

She mumbled something. I couldn't hear her, but it didn't really matter at that moment. I was more concerned about where we were going to be heading and how we needed to get there.

"Come on, I know just where to take you."

I put my arm around her and pulled her up. She stumbled at first, but I was there to help her. Her breathing was slow and shallow, a true weakness in her body showing through.

The nearest place for us to go was an apartment near by. Not some random place, no sir. I knew the woman in there, having watched her a few times. She was a nice lady, mid thirties. I don't think she could have children. She worked hard to help poor unfortunate people.

I had the girl stand in front of the door. She had a slight waver as she stood in place. Her eyes were half open, gazing at me with dreary confusion. As she looked at me, I pounded on the door. If there was one thing I could do, I could touch things. Apparently, now I could touch some people. That was for later.

The door opened and the girl was taken in. I was too shocked with my own new revelation to watch after her. I knew she was going to be fine. And, from the looks of what I had just done, I was going to be fine, too.

* * *

I was grinning like a moron. A really, big one for that matter. I jumped around in the hall with energy and vigor. Somehow, I had touched somebody. Somebody had seen me. Somebody had heard me.

There was a sudden rock in my gut. Jack had been seen by drunks. This girl was half dead. Maybe only people who were not there could see us.

I had shown in her sand. I had been part of a dream. Then there was this music note. Beautiful, but odd. I felt an odd tugging in my mind, much like whenever I tried to think about what my name was. Only this time, I stroked the back of my neck pensively.

I sprung forward and paced up and down the hall. It was a really long hall, letting me have plenty of room. I pranced and jumped as I went down the hall. Nothing mattered at the moment. Somebody had seen me!

* * *

**Author's Note: **Sorry about the extra choppy and short chapter. This chapter is loaded, though. I have so much hidden in here. I've hidden things in previous chapters. Heavy foreshadowing and such. I wonder how many of you picked up on those things. If you did, I dare you to tell me what you think I did.

I know what I am doing with the whole vision thing. I mean, with the girl seeing her and all. I have a purpose, you guys! Although, I am going through some serious debating about what to do with her at some points.

Review and tell me what you think! What do you think Jack is doing? What do you think she is going to do? What do you think she would be the guardian of?


	34. Angel

**Author's Note: **Hey you guys. **THIS IS IMPORTANT FOR GLOBS SAKE SO READ THIS** **PLEASE!**I am going through a bit of depression and stress right now. Things are looking a little bleak and dark, and I have lost that cheerful, happy feeling. Because of this, I am having a really hard time continuing this. This story, which not even forty five days ago was invented, which was inspired by this great and awesome movie, might be stopping for awhile.

Now, don't get me wrong. I intend to continue this... but I cannot really get myself to continue it with this depression. I cannot write something cheerful and happy when I am in such a foul mood, and I cannot continue this cycle of depression by continuing to write angst style things. I don't want that, and I don't want my characters to go through that.

So, until further notice, bye. This might take me a week or two to get over.

* * *

I later found out that the girl's name was Angelina. At least, that is what she had been dubbed by her parents. Personally, she thought it verbose and decided to go by a shorter version: Angel.

Angel was about the happiest girl you could ever meet. No matter what the world wanted to dump on her, she was always able to find some sort of silver lining. Even if it was a gossamer layer, she would be the girl to find it.

Once I had taken her over to the woman's place, she had spent the night. I visited her the next day, for mixed reasons. First, I wanted to know if she was okay. Second, I wanted to know why she was out there. Third, I wanted to see if I could help her. Fourth, I was honestly excited to be seen by somebody.

Okay, so the order was not that rigid in shape and importance, but it was all there.

I sat outside of the window and peeked in, my hands cupping to see into the fog. Not soon after, she opened the window with the biggest smile on her face.

"Thank you for helping me, Siren!" she giggled. "It means a lot!"

Siren? Okay, that was both odd and vaguely familiar. Maybe that was my name! What I had heard long ago!

"Siren," I repeated under my breath. I shook my head an brought myself back to the present. "It's no big deal," I said dismissively.

"No it's not!" She jumped up and down. "Do you want to come in? I'm having a tea party!"

NINNY!

I remember about three hundred years where I had no idea who I was aside from the name that the Man on the Moon had given me. It was both good and bad. On one hand, I had no idea what suffering I had gone through. On the other hand, I had suffered through three hundred years of understanding nothing and not knowing what joy I had felt.

I often wonder why I didn't have my memories when I woke up.

Now, here I was, sitting in the Tooth Palace. I held Summer's tooth box. The soft golden shape felt awkward in my hand. I traced over the colorful pattern on the top with my finger. Nothing happened, as I expected.

I gripped it and slid it into my pocket and picked up my staff. It had been leaning against the wall while I stared at the small box Tooth had given me.

"You know you can't open it, right?" she had asked me.

"I know," I replied. "I just think it might come in handy if I manage to find her some how."

That odd girl. The not-so-Summery-Summer. I could have sworn that was her. Sworn my winter wind on it. I know some kids look like their parents when they grow up, but this was abnormal the similarities.

And why would Summer do that any way? How could she just fall in love like that? Or maybe she didn't fall in love. Something just happened that resulted in a child. But this was Summer we were talking about. Our Summer. She simply would not-no-could not just throw us off and go through life without telling us. She could not go on and not be noticed.

Then I would have to think about how she might have died.

I shook my head and ran a hand through my hair. I really needed to stop thinking about her, which was a rather tricky thing to do. Near impossible. I decided not even to try, rather fly off and find Ariel.

So, simply as that, I did.

NINNY!

Four hours later, I finally was making my exit from the young girl's room. She had quite the imagination and quite the number of friends she insisted on introducing me to. Oddly enough, she seemed to know more about me than I did. Small snips of our conversation actually helped me.

Me: "So why do you think I am Siren?"

Her: After placing her hands on her hips. "You are the Siren if I ever saw her! Going around and leading you to help! Now drink your tea before it gets cold!"

Me: Later. "How do you think I found you?"

Her: Rolling her eyes hugely. They were a lovely green. "The music, duh!"

Me: (Even later) "What do you feel about music?"

Her: "I think it's great! The best thing ever! You taught me that! Now hold your cup steady so I don't spill on you!" (She spilled on my any way then told me to man up when I squeaked.)

I have no idea where she got any of what she was saying. I must be the Siren, I suppose, but she was going on about adventures I had no idea what source she went by, when I would have done these or why.

Her: "What was it like that time you beat Jack Frost in a musical competition?"

Me: "That? Oh, that was nothing."

Her: "Or what about that time you broke into Santa's workshop?"

Me: (Why on Earth would I do that?!) "Oh, yes, that was something I did to kill some time."

I even asked her later where she had gotten this idea. She giggled and told me in her dream, of course! Looking back, I am not sure if she did more good or harm to me in the time I had spent with her. I kind of wanted to be alone to process it all after about two hours of this. My chance to leave was when the kindly woman that had taken her in wanted to talk to her about something important. I figured it too personal for me to be there.

I sat on a roof and tried to take deep breaths. Okay, so it was time to think.

Siren.

Siren.

My name started with an 's', so I suppose that could be it. Also, it could allude to the phrase I heard when I had first come to consciousness: 'Follow the Siren's call'. And I supposed it made sense in some way. Sirens were singers from greek mythology, only I was a good version of them.

I felt a stiff winter breeze and I felt a presence nearby. I turned a bit and saw Jack, one hand in his pocket, the other clutching his staff. It pulsed with a weak blue light, and I got the feeling it might hold some magical powers.

"Hey," I said dryly. Something about this moment made me feel chocked up, but in a very confusing way. Both sadness and joy swelled within me. Why I felt this way and why I was feeling so many conflicting things recently, I had no idea.

"Hey." He glanced around before looking at me. "Why are you up here alone?"

"I just finished baby sitting this kid." It was a half truth. "I can't exactly bring myself to go back home quite yet."

"Care to talk about it?"

I shook my head. "Not with some stranger I only met yesterday."

He gave a half grin. "I figured I'd at least ask."

I shrugged. "The sentiment stands."

We awkwardly stood there for a few seconds. I scowled internally, trying to keep a calm look on the outside. I had spent all of two days avoiding this guy, and technically only had one day to really think about what I was going to be doing. The other day, well, was spent trying to figure out who I was while helping out a young girl.

That was it, I was going to be honest with him. I was going to tell him I didn't think that my name was Ariel, I was this ghosty thing. I was going to find the words somehow.

But I couldn't.

Jack stood there awkwardly before he asked me something. "Does the name Summer James ring any bells?"


	35. On a Roof

**Author's Note: **Hey you guys! I'm feeling a little better now that finals have passed and I have begun rereading the full Harry Potter series. Unfortunately, I might have lost my muse for this. I will probably be picking up a new story later today, but I am going to fight to get my muse for this back!

* * *

My head felt sluggish, as if it was trying to run with mud in its gears. Part of me felt like I was reaching into a void, searching for something that I knew was there, but I had no idea what it was. I just knew something was there.

"Summer James?" I repeated. It felt familiar on my tongue. Who was Summer? I felt compelled to spend a bit more time on this one. "Why do you ask?"

Jack rocked idly on his feet. His gaze was flicking between me and the sky.

"Well, she was an old friend of my group of friends." He gave a bit of a nervous smile. "We lost touch about twenty years ago, so it's fully possible she has a different name."

I pursed my lips and carefully thought about it. Still needed more time.

"Your group of friends?"

He rolled his eyes. "You're an inquisitive girl, aren't you?" His hand ruffled my hair in an affectionate way. I almost felt offended by how close he just assumed himself to me, but it didn't seem to bother me too much.

I crossed my arms. "Do you want to know if I know her or not?"

He gave me a raised eye brow. "Blackmail. Nice." He sighed and twirled his staff idly before returning it back to his shoulder. "Santa, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, the Sandman and me, Jack Frost." He gave a slight bow.

I stared at him. Retaining some skepticism was not something hard to do.

"You think I am kidding?" He gave a devilish grin. I felt a knot in my gut.

"I think you have to prove yourself," I shot back coyly.

He took his hand out of his pocket for a moment before returning it to his pocket with a nervous look on his face. His hands did a bit of a momentary shuffle as he tried to figure out what to do. After a few tense moments, he slammed the end of his staff down on the ground. A wall of icy wind shoved me back a few inches from him, small ice fragments prickling at my skin. A flower of frost took up a six foot radius around him, complex patterns in the frozen water looking radiant in the waning day light.

"You just," I began. The words would not come.

We were the same sort of being. He just had a lasting impression on the world. He was Jack Frost. He was Jack Frost! And his friends-the other big myths-they had powers to!

So then was I a myth?

He watched me with a curiosity that I had seen awhile before. Like he was testing me to see how I would react. It made me feel embarrassed. I cleared my throat and tried to calm myself down. I was still a bit jittery, but I was at least able to control myself moderately.

"You just did something really awesome," I finally managed.

"Yes, I did." He got a cocky smirk, but there was a little twinge of sorrow in his eyes. "I also can make it snow and fly. All without aging a single day."

A growing hope formed in my heart. Maybe, just maybe I was what he was. Some being of similarity. The girl had seen me, so that meant I had existence in this world. I was not just a roaming existence. And I had no idea how I was supposed to act. There was so much to feel and think about that none of it happened. I simply couldn't begin to fathom all of they joy that was going to take me over.

I looked Jack over. He looked like he was only seventeen or so. I looked around that, I always had. But how old was he actually?

He cleared his throat. "So, back to Summer. Do you know her?"

I furrowed my eye brows. "One more question. To you, who was she?"

"She was a friend?"

I raised an eye brow. "A friend? How good of a friend?"

Jack puffed out his cheeks. There was a small touch of pink on his cheeks and his eyes shot to the side. "She was a friend. I suppose I wanted to try and see if there was anything more to it, or if there ever could be, but I was interrupted. I suppose the sudden end made it hard for me to forget about it."

He looked pretty heart broken now. A sad posture suddenly showed through his confident normal stature. Whatever it was, this story really meant a lot to him.

I cleared my throat, trying to get my courage to stick out. My hand extended out to him. "I'll see what I can do."

He looked at my hand before looking at me. "Why would I trust you with this object?"

I grinned. "I never said anything about the object, but you can trust me with it because you thought I might know."

He scowled at me, his hand fidgeting in his pocket nervously. A few times, it looked like he was about to take it out before he finally brought the object to my hand. I felt the chilly fingers release a cold metallic object in my hand, which I grasped myself after he finally removed his hand. His eyes went up and looked me dead in the eye. I stared right back into his eyes.

At this close of a range, I could see the crystalline snowflake pattern that circled his irises. I noticed a lot more, but all I feel justified in noticing was the eye thing. Other things I noticed-well-were a rather gratuitous in my eyes for observations.

"Don't lose this."

I gave him a small smile. "Like I would do that."

He shuffled in his spot for a second before looking around. "Well, I better go make it snow. You better get home so your parents don't worry about you."

With a sudden gust of wind, he was gone. I clamped my eyes shut as small fragments of eyes got kicked up.

Something dropped in my gut. I had wanted to tell him about what I was. I wanted to tell him the truth. But I had missed my chance and I kept letting him believe I was something I wasn't. Somehow, he would understand. Or, I would simply stop.

First things first, though. I had to find Summer James.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Please, pretty please with a cherry on top review! It would make me oh so very happy.


	36. Searching for Summer

I sat in a nice, cozy place for awhile. Quickly after my discussion with Jack, I dashed off and convinced the single girl who could see me to help me with finding Summer.

Step 1: Google.

I hoped that this was not going to be hugely problematic to find her. I mean, Summer James was just close enough to being common that it could cause some problems in finding the exact person whom Jack is referring. I did have a bit of an idea though.

I must look like her. Something like that. Jack had to have some reason for asking her to do this. They had to be similar in some way.

I clutched the object I had in my pocket. It felt somehow odd in my hand. Just touching it gave my whole body a bit of a jolt. But in a good way. Kind of like a shot of coffee to a tired mind. My fingers curled around it, but I dropped it before I could do any harm to it.

It was Summer's. Not mine.

We were currently in step 2: have her google while I waited. It felt odd for me to go into such a quiet, odd place. Also, I didn't want to distract her. She still seemed to be the only person able to touch or see me.

Angel came trotting out. She looked a little bit torn up about something, like she was about to burst into tears. I did the obvious thing: rush up to her and attempt to find out what the reason for her tears was. She never really gave me a direct answer.

"Su... Siren." Her lip quivered. "Summer is not around any more."

I blinked a few times. She wasn't around any more? "Oh? It's okay! People are not around a lot of the time." I winced, as this was probably a terrible thing to be saying to a young girl whom I had found in the street.

"Yeah..." She sniffled and wiped at her cheeks. "I know that."

I put my arm around her and pulled her in. "I'm sure that Summer is in a nice, happy place."

This did it for her. She just simply burst into tears and began to hiccup a bit. In the short time I had known her, I had figured that she was too cheerful for crying. Nobody is, after all.

"Why are you so worked up about this?" I asked her in a kind manner. She didn't even know the girl who had been lost. How could an unknown entity change somebody so greatly? Sure, her death and passing were something major, but nothing compared to what would cause most people this meltdown.

She rubbed furiously at her eyes now and I could see her trying to get control over herself and her actions. I continued to have my arm around her, and I rubbed at her back in a comforting manner.

"I don't know," she quivered. "I just wanna go back to Jolene's house now."

Jolene, for those who are not aware of who she is, is a kind lady who had been attempting foster care for quite some time. Angel had been taken under her wing the previous day. This all happened really too fast for me to comprehend or for anything to really make any sort of sense. Wasn't foster care slow?

I lead her home, or where she was currently staying. Due to her rather explosive reaction, I felt the need to sooth and comfort her some how. Not doing so would probably be a crap thing to do to anybody.

Before long, I stood outside of the door. She had ditched me the second the door was open, leaving me standing there. An eerie feeling of awkward crept over me, making whatever I did feel unnatural. I needed to sit down somewhere.

The problem with being me is that there is no real home for me to go to. No cozy place for me to sit down and visit without worrying about somebody walking through me. I always kind of imagined coming across this one door way that lead to my dream home, but I was yet to find it.

I roamed around silently, not really thinking about what I should have been. There was a puzzle for me to figure out, and my mind was going for everything but.

The sun set pretty early into the evening. The clock had hardly turned to six in the evening when the sky began to darken up. Clouds danced around the mostly bare sky. Stars struck out against the black curtain of the night. Dominating over it all was the moon. It looked like a coin that had been pressed carefully into the sky, beaming over everything.

I shut my eyes and took a deep breath. With my face turned to the moon, I made a wish.

"Dear... God, or whatever deity is here to hear me. I suppose my beliefs would lead me to the Moon. Or if you aren't him, please let him know that somebody wanted to tell him this." I swallowed, suddenly self conscious. Nobody would ever know about this, but it still was horribly embarrassing.

"Please let me find my place among all of this. I just want to have my own little part of existence. Even if it is just a small little corner in some unheard of place, I just want a home or some purpose."

I puffed out my cheeks and glanced around. Nobody was around to hear that, thankfully. The thought had been building up for quite some time, I just never really had the guts to say it out loud. Something about noise made everything seem like it was real.

There was an odd knot in my gut that came with the feeling of deja vu. It had been building up for quite some time, actually. There were a few instances in which I almost keeled over with the feeling. My mind hurt, like it was straining and jumping for the bottom of the metaphorical cookie jar that was my mind. I could have sworn that my hand had already brushed the bottom a million times over, hoping for a sweet treat of some sort.

I opened my eyes and looked around with an odd feeling of freshness. The moonlight made the thin frost coating on everything glisten. All of it was so beautiful, peaceful, lovely.

And I had no part of it.

My gaze wandered over everything just as the first flakes of snow began to drift down. A flurry of white was soon to take over everything, silencing all sounds.

I began to hum a tune when I noticed a very odd door.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Well this chapter was rough. I have a point I want to get to, but this is just horrible. I am so, so very sorry for this. I have been thinking about trying to get a picture up of Summer's tattoo and using that for the main picture for this story. I mean, that would be cool, wouldn't it? It might take me awhile to make one, so don't get your hopes up.

Any way, please review and make me a happy author! I am going to be attempting to get my muse back into me!


	37. The Odd Door

**Author's Note: **Oh I hope this isn't an odd chapter. I really hope that things are going to shape up into beautiful things. I got the Rise of the Guardians art book, so that is helping my muse! Yay! Any way, enjoy!

* * *

What does a person do when they see a very odd door? They go through it. Especially when there is this odd, fulfilling feeling that comes from simply looking at the door.

It was most certainly an old door. The wood was old and worn, yet still holding up with confidence. A small golden sphere was in the center, and it turned out to be the doorknob. As I put my hand on it, it felt like it was melting into the palm of my hand. The metal was worn and soft to my touch.

I pushed open the door, not even knowing what I was even expecting. Certainly, what I saw was not what I had been expecting.

I entered a very large room. It just seemed like a hall of marble with no ceiling. Pillars appeared at matching intervals on both sides of the hall. Between each one, crystal like glass made up windows that arched up and over. Currently, there was no lighting aside from the moonlight. It was reflected off the many surfaces and shapes, bathing everything in an eerie colorful light.

Slowly, my feet drove me forward. Each step echoed through the vast emptiness. Each step sounded like gunfire.

I suddenly found myself at an intersection. A spiral staircase stood right in the middle of seven hall ways. Each hall looked exactly the same, indistinguishable from the others. All of them were empty and vast, much like the one I had come from. In fact, the stairs were fascinating themselves. They looked like a single, pyramid of stairs, but there was an eventual rail and split on them.

"Curiouser and curiouser," I muttered to myself.

I blushed when I realized that I had lost which hall I had just come from. That was brilliant. Simply genius of me. Rather than go off wandering down another hall, I decided to go up the stairs.

The stairs wound up and up. When I finally figured they were done, I found myself going up more stairs. Whoever invented this place must have wanted to piss people off. But it was so lovely, I couldn't be angry. Elaborate carvings decked the walls, but it was too dark to see any of them clearly. A railing rose out of the steps at one point, which I gladly held as I made my way up even further.

All of the steps were worth it.

It was like there was a sphere of glass perched on a spire. The bubble went over the tip, letting the dome continue underneath it all. Not a single blemish was on the glass, letting the night sky entirely surround the room. Only the swirl pattern of white supports in the glass gave any indication that there was something more there.

There wasn't much here at the top. A rail surrounded the plat form, a very plush looking cushion at the bottom of every inch on the rail. A crystal table sat arched on one side of the platform. The moon reflected itself in it, and that was the only thing on it.

After a careful examination of the table, which yielded nothing, I sat down on the cushion and knew that my prediction had been right. This was comfortable. Only then did I really ponder how odd everything was.

A whole building that spanned from a single, not all that pretty doorway. A whole building that, so far, looked to be made of empty halls, a lot of stairs, and a dome. There had to be something more to it. Then again, this could also perfectly well be a hallucination or something. This did not seem real at all.

I took the small prize out of my pocket that Jack wanted me to give to Summer. A pool of guilt formed in my gut. How was I supposed to tell Jack? How was I supposed to even face him?

I looked over the object as I pondered these questions. It was a tube of gold with colorful patterns. A face was stamped on one end. My face.

All previous thoughts seemed to clear themselves away. Why on Earth was my face on this odd tube thing? What was this tube thing, anyway?

I looked at it from every angle possible. It didn't look all that special. The pattern was nice, though. I ran my finger over it absentmindedly, feeling the golden trails bump against my thumb.

As if I had done something special, it began to glow. Next thing I know, I was not even in this odd building any more. I was in a cabin.

* * *

Tooth glared down at me with a fixed scowl. "Jack," she began. "you know that stealing tooth boxes is a terrible thing to do!"

"It's not like you were in need of it," I muttered under my breath. Several Baby Teeth were pausing to look at me, but they went on their way when Tooth glanced in their direction.

"Only the person whom the box holds the teeth for can open it," Tooth said with exasperation. "Nobody but Summer can open her box."

"Then it isn't a problem, then. Her daughter can relay the box to her."

Tooth knit her eyebrows together. "Jack, Summer never had any children. I would have known when their teeth came in."

It felt like I had been punched in the gut. "What?"

Tooth crossed her arms and pouted. "I would have known. I don't advertise this, because of your reaction."

My mind was racing. That would mean that Ariel was. She was... I was to excited to even finish the thought. Acting on the rise of adrenaline in my system, I shot out of the palace at full speed. The feeling of the air went unnoticed. I had a much better thing to be thinking about.

* * *

Air seemed to be a distant thought. I gasped and looked around wildly with my fresh eyes. They were the same eyes as before, and they had certainly seen more than I had initially thought they were. But now, my thoughts were muddled with a little more something special... Myself!

How could I? All of those things that happened. How could I?

Tears began to well up. I began to choke up. Nothing seemed all that good. I was a bad person. Everything seemed clipped and short. There was a sudden wind. Jack was standing there, confused. I looked at him, conflicted. We both knew what was. We both had one thought.

"Jack," I sobbed as I sprung up and wrapped my arms around him.

"Summer." He returned the gesture. "I missed you."

* * *

**Author's Note: **So please review and let me know all of the lovely things that are passing on through your heads! I really hope you all like it! What do you think Summer is going to be the guardian of, if she ever becomes a guardian? Do you think that things are going to be all beautiful when things end? I think I have selected the date where I end it... So I wonder if you all would like to hang in there with me as I try to get things ready for the end.


	38. Reunited

**Author's Note: **Please remember to review at the end! Please! It would mean a ton to me!

* * *

I momentarily forgot to breathe. Either that, or I simply couldn't breathe through the massive amount of emotions that were just flooding my throat still. Subconsciously, I kept squeezing him tightly for a split second just to be certain that this was an actual, real thing.

"I am sorry," I whimpered. "I should have told you to begin with that I was a spirit. When we met I panicked, though. I am sorry."

"It's fine, it's fine."

His hand rubbed up and down my back in a comforting manner. It felt odd, as normally people did that when they weren't subzero in body temperature. My cheek felt like it was ready to fall off after awhile, causing me to step back from my small pity party.

I had the simultaneous want to wipe away my tears and to just stay in this perfect state of mind forever. One or the other was going to be accomplished, and it was most likely not going to be the first one.

"I am so sorry," I sniffled again as I hurriedly swiped my face with my hand. "I really am."

"It's fine. I know how you like to cry after you go through something scary."

I nodded and tried to take a deep breath. The cold of Jack's presence was definitely being felt, and a chill shot up my spine as my temperature began to drop as well.

We both stood there awkwardly for a few moments. Neither of us were really sure what should be done next. There was no villain to go off and slay. There was no appointment to go rushing off to. We just had time and space and about a million things to talk about with no idea where to begin.

Jack decided to start off. "If it matters at all, it never really stuck with me that you might be dead. I was looking for all other options except for that fact."

"So what do you think happened, then?"

He looked off to the side. "I thought you might have just run off or something."

It was as if I suddenly remembered something urgent that needed to be done in a split second. Actually, that was what happened. I remembered something I had wanted to do.

I slipped my arms off from around him and placed my hands on both sides of his face, pulling him into a quick kiss. Even though it was a hasty action, I still felt the icy chill and the odd numb feeling that came from it. In that moment, I also realized the lingering scent of pine that stuck to his sweatshirt.

He blinked his eyes a few times. Then, as suddenly as I had, he returned the gesture. There was a slight loop in our actions for a minute or two before both of us were smiling like idiots.

"I wouldn't do that to you," I said as sweetly as I could, a stupid smile on my face.

"Well, all was better than the other option."

I rolled my eyes. "Well, at least now I am going to be forever young. So, technically, this is a better alternative."

He chuckled.

"Can I ask you something with the full intent on not hurting your feelings or anything?" I asked.

He raised an eye brow. "It depends on the question, but go ahead."

"Well, you are really cold, and I am getting uncomfortable, so would you mind if we just stopped hugging for a minute or two?"

All traces of joy quickly left his face. "I suppose we could." His arms suddenly dropped to his sides. With his sad sauntering posture, he went over and picked up his staff where he had dropped it. I hadn't even noticed.

I cast my gaze down. That was harshly inconsiderate of me, seeing as he was the spirit of winter. I might as well have spat in his face. Just brilliant. Maybe I was the spirit of screw ups. Fitting.

"I wonder what this place is," I wondered out loud, hoping to change the topic. "I just came across a door that looked out of place, then here I am."

"It's probably Narnia," Jack said.

I cast him an amused look. "I never took you for a fan of such things."

"Hey, that book involved a really long winter. I thought it was cool!"

We both shared a small laugh before both of us trailed off. Surprisingly, after twenty whole years, neither of us really had anything to say to each other. At least, nothing that could be said in the current situation.

"I think Tooth might know, or at least have a good guess," Jack said finally. "We could ask her."

I nodded. "She might! I have been dying to talk to her!"

"Says the girl who didn't even remember knowing the Tooth Fairy not that long ago."

I gave him a playful shove. "Shut up. It was down there, somewhere."

He rolled his eyes. "Sure it was."

I cast another glance around the room. It was all so peculiar. The moon lingered in my sight a little longer than everything else. My eyes scanned over the surface, gazing at the shape of a man that was on it.

"I've never really looked at the moon before," I uttered in a mere whisper. "Now that I am looking at it, it is beautiful. I wonder how many people take the moon for granted."

"Too many," Jack said with an almost sorrowful tenderness. I returned my gaze to him to see his blue iris' fixed on the imperfect surface of the moon. A small smile was on his lips, looking like it was mostly founded on appreciation.

"Let's go see Tooth," I said. "I think I owe her a greeting."

* * *

**Author's Note: **This story is just about over. I can see the end to this. I don't want to drag it out. So, as much as I hate to say it, it looks to me like this story is going to be ending soon. Chapter 40 will be the last chapter, I believe.


	39. Another Toothache

**Author's Note:** So sorry for the late update! My muse was being a bit of a butt! Please enjoy one of the last chapters!

* * *

The wind made me feel alive. It was also probably the events of the previous several hours which was encouraging this emotion.

Icy winds threw my hair back and rushed through each strand, even pricking at my skin under my clothes. I had to turn my head occasionally because my breath would readily be thrown back into my throat as I tried to breathe. My skin was beginning to loose feeling as a snowy numbness spread over me.

My arm was latched around Jack as we flew through the air on his staff. Although it was narrow, he seemed to have no problems with finding a decent foothold. I struggled slightly, but it brought me great ease to hold on to him. His breathing was normal, as if this was the most natural thing in the world. Occasionally, he would swerve or they would reach some bumpy air, causing him to chuckle at my short bursts of panic in which I would try to cling closer to him.

"Are we almost there?" I yelled over the wind.

Jack gave a thumbs up, probably too lazy to really pipe up over the wind. He was used to this.

Suddenly, the rocky mountains were interrupted by a brilliant world of color. Seven spires seemed to shoot down from the roof of a massive cave, intricate patterns on almost every inch of it. Golden circles made of hexagons glistened as hummingbirds dashed through the openings. There was a massive one ahead, one where all of the activity seemed to take root.

Jack drifted down to one of the nearby spires. "We're going to wait here until Tooth comes over."

I nodded. Tooth was a very busy bird woman.

Now that we were no longer flying, I was beginning to get some feeling back. I ended up pacing around and rapidly rubbing at my arms to try and regain the feeling. Once or twice, I shot Jack a dirty look for sending a cold breeze my way.

The sudden change in the warm air let me know that somebody was now coming. It looked more like a swarm of hummingbirds, but they reluctantly seemed to branch off from the single, large bird in the middle.

"Jack what is i-"

I looked up at Tooth and gave a half smile. Nerves seemed to be thrumming through my whole body and making me want to do something of a jig. Maybe if I dove, I could hide. But why was I even nervous?

"Hey Tooth," I said weakly.

She stared at me with an open mouthed look. Her eyes were the size of dinner plates, no remark on how they were naturally massive. Her wings fluttered even faster and I saw her go up a few inches in the air.

"Summer?" she whispered.

"Yeah..."

I hardly managed the full word before she dove to me and took me up in her arms. The tips of her feathers tickled at my skin, her wings decorating my flesh with goosebumps. Jack stood a few feet behind, wearing a rather smug look on his face.

"OhIthoughtyouweredeadbutthen againweallthoughtyouweredead andImissedyousomuch!" Tooth squealed. There was no pause or anything in her words.

"I am sorry I didn't find you earlier," I said in a much more controlled tone than hers. "I didn't even know who I was, though."

Tooth leaned back but still kept her arms around me in case she suddenly had to take me up into a tight hug again. There was a hint of a tear in her eye.

"Oh it's okay. It's okay. I'm so glad you came back!"

"I'm glad I did too! Although bumming around for twenty years was fun, I don't think I am ever going to go back to that."

Tooth gave a small laugh. "Oh I am so glad! So you're a spirit now! What can you do?"

I paused. "What can I do?" I knit my eyebrows together as I thought. "I haven't really thought about that or done anything that might make me feel special."

Tooth wiped at her eye and giggled. "We can help you find something. You obviously have some sort of power, otherwise you wouldn't be a spirit."

"Good for that, then."

I glanced over her shoulder to Jack. With her wings now down, I could get a clear view of him. He was twirling his staff and looking around. Something told me he might just break something if we didn't give him some sort of acknowledgement.

"When did you find out you had powers, Jack?" I inquired.

He looked up. "The second I was a spirit. My staff was next to me, then I was doing winter magic like a pro."

I puckered my lips at him and narrowed my eyes. "Liar. You probably face planted when you made your first gust of wind."

"I did not!"

Something told me to keep going. And, seeing as I had the perfect chance, I was going to get under Jack's skin. "Look, it's nothing to be embarrassed about. You were not the best at flying straight off so you crashed around for awhile before you got good."

He let off a few snowflakes of rage. "Stop saying that."

I rolled my eyes and ignored him. "So, Tooth, maybe we should go see Bunny!"

She gasped and sprung up into the air. "Yes! We most certainly should! He's not quite busy yet, so it'll be perfect!"

"To the Warren!" I yelled with triumph.

* * *

Jack was still in a rather moody state when we arrived there. The fact that we were probably going to the Warren probably wasn't helping it. Unless they somehow got past their differences and stuff, but we are talking about two men here.

I walked across the grass with a guardian on each side. The winds emanating from both of them left me in a rather conflicted state. Tooth buzzed ahead to go find the giant rabbit.

"I didn't face plant," Jack muttered the second she was out of earshot.

"I don't see why this matters, Frosty." I hardly glanced at him, focusing on the rivers of dye. We meandered over to the banks of the brightest red one as we talked. "Remember when I pushed you into one of those?"

He huffed. "Then I dunked you, you cried your eyes out then wouldn't look at me for a day or two? Yeah, I remember."

"Well there is one way to look at that situation, and that's the negative way." I gave him a slight nudge to inform him that I was in fact joking, and not actually trying to offend him. Because pissing off Jack is something I am not ready to do.

He nudged me back. "Well you also stole my staff."

"Yeah, I jacked it." I grinned from my pun and nudged him back.

"That's a terrible pun." He gave me a slight push.

"That's a clever pun," I shot back as I returned the push with a harder one.

We dropped all conversation and got into a pushing war. He was much lighter on his feet, but he also was right by the banks. We were pretty evenly matched.

Back and forth back and forth back and forth we went with this, until I decided to make a change. After shoving him once, I gave him another quick shove and sent him toppling over into the river with a surprised yell.

I felt the arched part of his staff hit my back and begin to pull me in after him. I was going to go under. Then, all of the sudden I wasn't next to him. I was somewhere far off.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Please remember to review and such! It brings me great joy and such when I get reviews! This story has become such a major thing to me because this is a full blown novel of a story. And people actually like it!

I have been doing other things lately. Mostly getting other written works ready. I am going to start a Harry Potter one soon, I believe. Maybe a Doctor Who one. If I feel the motivation, I might even do another RoTG one. There is an actual novel I want to write, so I might not have the best update time in the world, but I will try my hardest for one chapter a week. If you feel at all interested, feel free to talk to me.


	40. Sound

**Author's Note:** I think I can work out two more chapters. One next Friday then the final, epic chapter will be on the release date of the movie (at least here in America). So, keep reading!

* * *

It was a peaceful day at the workshop. At least, as peaceful as one could be. It was a few days after Christmas, so the main torment of the impending deadline was gone while a new one loomed ahead. With the guardians and other spirits, a year is no time at all.

All of the yetis were at their stations, already pumping out toys like mad. A few were on break, others were chasing around elves, trying to spook them away. Elves were fascinating little creatures. They simply bit the fingers of anybody who dared get close enough.

North sat in his work room. He was working restlessly over something. The chisels and picks were set aside on the table. No ice would be sculpted today. There was something a little more pressing.

Carefully dipping his brush again into the paint, he focused in on what he planned on doing. The nesting doll was almost finished. It was a project he had taken a casual attempt at for about twenty or so years.

The blue paint glistened on the doll, freshly placed on it. It was surprising the likeness, as he had only met her once, and only briefly then. Tragic, really. She probably would have loved to spend a ton of time at the workshop. Apparently, she had also spent plenty of time at the Warren. But that was only because North was very busy at the time and would not have been a good host.

Back to the thing he was working on. It was going to be a gift for Jack. He was being haunted by the memory, and maybe giving him this would help him somehow. Either that or make it much worse. But North also thought that having people crammed into bags and thrown through portals was a good idea, so this was not something he was all to concerned about.

The girl was almost complete. The nesting doll's layers had all been painted, except for the faces. There was really no knowing of what she was like in her various layers. So maybe this gift was a bust. But the outmost layer of doll was being painted with a call, serene expression.

A yeti suddenly burst in with an elf on each foot. Several of the imps rushed in and began trying to either climb on things or eat things. Some of them tried both.

The yeti grunted and tried to form words which North had a bit of a hard time deciphering.

"Vat?" he asked once the yeti rushed through his rumbling. When the yeti repeated, much slower now, North changed his demeanor immediately. "Then we go to the Warren!"

It should be noted that there is a sound when a portal opens from a snowglobe. Only spirits and other believers can hear it, but they do hear it when there is one. It's a dull crack that also has a bit of a sucking woosh to it.

I noticed this very clearly.

Really, I have no idea what happened. There was a bang which I heard somewhere in the back of my hearing as Jack's staff made contact with my back, then all of the sudden I felt the massive wall that was the sound. It was weakened by then. But then there was a sudden sound from in front of me, the splash of Jack.

The next thing I knew I was rocketing through the air. It felt like something had just pushed me, like some massive trampoline made of air.

I stopped when I was over the Warren. Not just over it, but above it. I can't really describe what it was like, but I was over and above the Warren. A full, panoramic view of the green fields, rivers of vibrant dye and the endless amount of flowers.

I could hear everything, too. The tumble of the dye as it went over the occasional rough spot. The rustling of trees in a weak breeze. It took a little more than a moment to get used to in the air was nothing fun. I had no visible means of support, but I felt this pushing against myself that seemed to be supporting me. Moving around was not really something I wanted to try.

Back where I had been a moment before, I heard a rapid chain of curses and the freezing of water. Somehow sane in my mind, I muttered under my breath, "You wouldn't speak to little kiddies like that, would you, Jack?"

Then, the cursing stopped. All that was left was the breeze, a sudden pounding of something on the ground, and the continued babble of the dye. I heard a weak, "Summer?"

"Summer?" I heard again, quite louder this time.

"Oh, look who finally figured out something happened," I said. Personal commentary was something that I liked to do to release nerves. And there was an abundance of those for the moment.

There was another conversation somewhere. I could feel it pushing against me, trying to topple me over. My sheer will to not have this happen was probably the only reason I didn't. I heard, more like felt, Tooth and Bunny talking before somebody with a thick russian accent popped in. The conversation suddenly went much faster.

"You say she come back?" said the russian. I recognized it as North, whom I had only known shortly.

"Yes, Jack found her without her memories, apparently," Tooth said. "She was only at the Tooth Palace for a few minutes when we took her here."

The cursing and such had silence where Jack was. There was a sharp whooshing instead. Within seconds, I felt the prickling sensation of cold air then Jack's hand on my arm.

"Summer," he said in a tone that showed that he was trying to remain calm. "How are you flying?"

"How have I not flown somewhere else," I replied. "I mean, it just feels like there are these walls and stuff. Is that what it feels like with your winter air? Just something that is solid and pushing you around? That's what this feels like. I don't even know what is pushing me, I just know that I can hear everything and that I am being shoved around by something I can't see. I am just some little feather in a wind storm. Do you know what I am saying? You probably don't. It didn't take you twenty years to have something strange like this happen to you."

The conversation down below cut off. I wobbled suddenly, feeling like there was something missing now. Only weak noises were below, and it felt like I was trying to stand on a pad of slowly melting butter.

After a few tense moments of me slowly sinking, I scrambled up Jack's arm and wrapped myself around him. "I don't know."

* * *

**Author's Note: **Please review! That would make me a very happy person! It might encourage me to start another RotG fanfiction. Who knows. I might start a facebook page for RotG, so that might be something I do. Any way.

On my document section, it says that chapter one has seven days until it gets removed from the page. This means it has been up for 83 days. Guys, this is so amazing. Around three months ago I just started this on a whim, and here I am finishing it up.


	41. Pushed About

Back down on the ground, the world was simply chaotic. At least, for me it was. There were some moments where I felt perfect, like everything was as it normally was. Then a twig would snap and I would have to struggle to not fall over. Or the whisper of the breeze made me feel like I was trudging through mud.

"You okay?" Jack asked. His words felt like a brick wall, but I managed to stay up somehow. "You look really weak."

I sucked in a breath. "Looks like my powers are really kicking in."

He gave me a half grin, like he was unsure if this was good or bad. I didn't know either, so I didn't give him any indication either way.

I felt the hum of Tooth's wings like a steady, buffering fan. There was a purposeful beat that was Bunny, and a much heavier beat that I assumed to be somebody very chubby and round. Probably North.

After Jack helped me stagger around a bit, I got to thinking about what was even going on. The painful sensation of noise. It felt like it was a solid thing. I wanted to do nothing but sit in total silence for awhile.

Tooth rounded the corner, Bunny and North following after them. They went straight for us, and I could feel each of their sounds even worse when they got closer. I wanted to scream when they were feet away.

"Summer!" Bunny said, same australian accent as always. "You're a spirit!"

"It is very nice to meet you again," North said in a genial tone. I really didn't know that much about the jolly man.

"Nice to see you guys, too." I must have sounded strained or something, because their looks of joy morphed to concern.

"Are you okay?" they all asked at once.

Jack gave me a slight nudge, which I interpreted as his willingness to explain for me. I shook my head and decided to attempt it on my own.

"I'll be fine." I straightened up a bit and tried to get some strength. "I just think I won't be so for awhile."

All three guardians looked a bit confused, but they nodded like it all made perfect sense. A thick silence seemed to fill the void, but I could feel each rustle of a leaf distinctly.

"So how have you all been?" I asked after a minute.

"Same as always," Tooth said.

"Same same," North said.

"Pretty alright," Bunny said. "Jack was all torn up about you disappearing all of the sudden. He set several blizzards because he was so touchy."

Jack shot him an evil look. From the way Bunny shot back, I figured this was probably why blizzards were set onto the Warren. Tooth rolled her eyes and North went on, seemingly oblivious.

"Men," I muttered under my breath.

Tooth giggled. Jack and Bunny stopped glaring at each other and tried to go back to being somewhat friendly. They even passed up chances at each other for a few minutes after!

"So you're a spirit," North said after a moment. I glanced at him, feeling massively intimidated. "Do you have powers?"

"Well, I didn't really until a few minutes ago," I explained. I told them all I knew, and they nodded, trying to understand. "So that is pretty much that."

Tooth squealed. "We can train you to use your powers and you can help me with tooth collection!"

"Or she could help with eggs," Bunny interjected.

"Please, she will want to help with the presents." North chuckled.

"I could decide who I want to help and when," I said while I still had the chance.

They all looked at me before looking back at each other. There was a sort of tension there, but I could tell that it was generally gotten over in a friendly manner.

"Where is the Sandman? I've only met him once, although I have seen him a few times sense."

"He'll probably go back to his place unless we tell him that we want to talk to him." Tooth turned to one of her mini versions of herself. "Can you go tell him?"

The Baby Tooth nodded and chirped once before flying off somewhere. How they opened portals and got everywhere so quickly was beyond me. Maybe one of my powers would be to open portals. That way I could just zip around wherever I pleased.

"Who says we head over to the Workshop and talk around the globe?" North asked once that was done. "We can have cookies and milk!"

Everybody agreed with varying tones of enthusiasm, and everybody but Bunny got on the sleigh. When we took off, I felt like I was going to implode from the sheer amount of noise.

When we landed, I nearly fell out of the sleigh in haste. It was more solid on the ground. There was no groaning of wood or click of reindeer.

"You okay?" Jack asked, landing silently next to me. I suddenly appreciated how quiet winter could be, and I wanted more than anything to be lost in a silent, winter night.

"So much noise," I groaned. "But I'll be fine."

The workshop was doing nothing to help me. The yeti's were grunting and yammering in their own language, guitars were being tested out, toy planes made buzzing noises, elves were making something, a bell was ringing over the massive noise. If I felt like before was torture, this was pure Hell. It took effort to take each step. Jack ended up pulling me through as quickly as he could, Tooth deciding that her wings were probably going to make even more noise near me.

Once in the globe room, I took as deep of a breath as I could and held it. The door shut with a brick wall force, and suddenly the air was a lot more still. Things felt thinner now. Much easier. If only I could push back the noise and give myself some room to stand.

"Summer?"

I let out my breath and said, "Yes?"

"You okay?"

I nodded. "Once we start training, I'll be peachy."

We casually talked for a few hours until the Sandman finally made his entrance. I greeted him and introduced myself again, as it had been twenty years. Then I told them all I had done.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Please review! This is the second to last chapter for this whole story, so this is one of your last chances! I am thinking about making another RotG fanfiction, although I am not sure what. Summer might play a minor part in the story if I do write another one. I don't know.


	42. The View

**Author's Note: **Hey there. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you. _Thank you. _You have read this far, and that means so much to me. The fact anybody would read the great novel of a fanfiction I have just made. **Thank you. **Thanks for the 100 favorites, 157 reviews, and 129 followers. You have no idea what this does to my esteem as a writer.

I figured that this was the best I could do to leave it off. There might be a sequel sometime. Who knows. Just keep your eyes open and your smiles wide. The world is so wonderful, and you have helped me get through something that shows it.

* * *

I slipped down the road. My feet touched the frosted trail, not breaking the surface of the ice. All around me, the thick snow was still where it had initially fallen, a crust of frost on top of that as well. Maybe I could make a few foot prints, just for the crunch. It was about the most satisfying sound out there. Before I could, however, powdery snowflakes began to flutter down from the sky.

He was sitting in a tree, legs dangling down from the branch. Hands in his pockets, hood up, staff notched over his shoulder. From his posture, I could tell he was sulking. The snow was another dead give away.

Making a minimal amount of noise, I glided up, wobbling a few points in my assent. He continued sulking, showing no signs of sensing me. As I got closer, I could feel a stinging cold emanating from him.

Quickly, I reached for the cords that dangled on the front of his hoodie and pulled them down. By his sudden upstart, I could tell I had accomplished my goal.

"Augh!" He let out a chain of words, most of which were unrepeatable, the other words would seem too disjointed without them. After a moment of him flailing, he stopped.

"Leave me alone," he grumbled without loosening the hood. Only his nose and his lips were visible.

I sat down next to him, our knees touching, my leg dangling next to his. In an affectionate manner, I knocked his leg with mine, sending them into an unorthodox version of Newton's cradle.

"I have for a few days now. Sulking can only get you so far."

He huffed, sending a flurry of steam out of his mouth. "I did it for three hundred years."

"And I did it for twenty. We both know that it is just an endless cycle."

He huffed again. I hummed a bit and changed the way the steam drifted. It wasn't easy, but I managed to get it into something that could be vaguely described as a sphere. We repeated this until I had a perfect sphere, which he plucked, making a snow ball from the air. I caught it as it fell, feeling the cold reach to my bones. He put his hand on it, causing it to glow a wintery blue.

"I see you've been practicing," he said in a slightly more cheerful tone. At least, one with a little less depression underlying in it.

"I can only manage basic shapes and stuff."

I rested my head on his shoulder. It was cold, but it actually felt nice. My eyes began to grow heavy after a few minutes of silence between us. That's something I really liked about our relationship. We could just sit there and exist. There was no pressure to be running off to do things. No children depending on us .

"I can't believe how long ago it was," I said in a lazy attempt at remaining awake. If somebody thought I slept easily now, they really should see me around Sandman. "I mean, the time I really hated the world. And I drove all the way out to nowhere. I drove all the way out here. And I met you. Then time just started running from that moment on."

Jack made a grunt of agreement. "You really didn't want to come with me."

I giggled. "You kidnapped me."

"And tucked you into a tree."

"Yeah."

I closed my eyes, hardly remaining awake. I just wanted to fall asleep peacefully. That would be the best ending to this story.

"You know, this was the tree I put you in," he said after a moment. "I remember because it's my favorite tree. Great view. You can see the whole valley, the lake, and even your cabin."

"Really?" I stifled a yawn and opened my eyes.

The snow was covering everything, making everything look like a world of diamonds. Obviously, the moon glowed over everything. I smiled whenever I saw it. The lake was covered in ice, the flat surface looking hard from even here. And, through the snow covered tree tops, I could see my cabin jutting out proudly.

It was far from the most beautiful building in the world. There were many more things to take my breath away. But the cabin was by far the most magnificent thing in the world.

I closed my eyes again and sighed. It was snowing. Jack was there. I was happy. The world was so perfect at that moment.

In my mind, there is nothing more beautiful than winter.


End file.
